Background: This study explored the role of demographic, psychosocial, stress and life event-related risk factors for psychopathology and challenging behaviour in a clinical sample of adults with Down syndrome. Method: A convenience sample of adults with Down syndrome seen through a specialised clinic was assessed through interviews and…

Background: Research examining the quality of life (QoL) of children with severe developmental disabilities (SDD) is limited. The present study examines parent perceptions of child QoL in children with SDD compared with typically developing (TD) children and then examines predictors of QoL for the SDD group. Method: Parents of 246 children with…

Background: Training support staff in dealing with challenging behaviour in clients with intellectual disabilities (ID) is needed. The goal of this study is to determine which elements need to be incorporated in a training on staff interactions with these clients, building upon a framework and an interpersonal model. As in functional analysis,…

Background: The positive relationship between problem behaviours of children with additional complex needs and psychological distress in their caregivers has been widely evidenced. Fewer studies, however, have assessed the relationship between care recipients' problem behaviours and key physiological processes, relevant for the physical…

Background: Given the great benefits of effective parenting to child development under normal circumstances, and the even greater benefits in the face of risk, it is important to understand why some parents manage to be effective in their interactions with their child despite facing formidable challenges. This study examined factors that promoted…

Background: The measurement of subjective well-being in people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities (ID) is a difficult challenge. As they cannot self-report about their life satisfaction, because of severe communicative and cognitive limitations, behavioural observations of their emotions and moods are important in the measurement…

Background: We investigated the relationship between low mood and challenging behaviour in people in the severe and profound range of intellectual disability, while controlling for the presence of potentially confounding variables such as diagnosis of autism, physical and sensory problems and ill health. Methods: The key workers of 52 people with…

Background: Attachment research has shown the importance of attachment behaviour for the prevention of dysregulated behaviour due to emotional distress. The support of an attachment figure may be especially important for people with intellectual disability (ID), because they are less adept in dealing with stressful situations on their own. Our…

Background: Psychotropic medications are used to manage behaviour problems in adults with intellectual disability (ID). One group of psychotropic medication are mood stabilizers such as lithium and some antiepileptic drugs. Method: A comprehensive systematic review was performed to determine the evidence base for the effectiveness of mood…

Background: Having children with intellectual disability can be stressful for most parents. Currently there are very few studies focusing on parenting stress among mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS) in Asia. The present study examined the level of parenting stress experienced by Malaysian mothers of children with DS and evaluated the…

Background: Positive psychology is an area gaining credence within the field of intellectual disability (ID). Hope is one facet of positive psychology that is relatively unstudied in parents of children with ID. In the present study, we explore hope and its relationships with parental well-being in parents of school-aged children with ID. Method:…

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic syndrome associated with several physical, cognitive and behavioural characteristics. For many individuals with this syndrome, compulsive behaviour is often noted in both food and non-food situations. The focus of this paper is on the non-food-related compulsions in individuals with PWS and…

Background: Dementia is common among adults with Down's syndrome (DS); yet the diagnosis of dementia, particularly in its early stage, can be difficult in this population. One possible reason for this may be the different clinical manifestation of dementia among people with intellectual disabilities. Aims: The aim of this study was to map out the…

Background: Studies of people with intellectual disability suggest that several individual characteristics and environmental factors are associated with behaviour disorder. To date there are few studies looking at risk factors within specific syndromes and the relationship between early risk markers and later behaviour disorder. The key aim of the…

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a congenital alteration of chromosome pair 15. It is characterized by short stature, muscular hypotonia, hyperphagia, obesity, behavioural and emotional disturbances, hypogonadism and partial Growth Hormone (GH) deficiency. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effect of GH treatment on the…