Comorbid mental health disorders in children and young people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders
| Pages | 173-181 |
| Date | 21 August 2019 |
| Published date | 21 August 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-05-2018-0026 |
| Author | Ereny Gobrial |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
Comorbid mental health disorders in
children and young people with
intellectual disabilities and autism
spectrum disorders
Ereny Gobrial
Abstract
Purpose –Children and young people with comorbid intellectual disabilities (ID) and autism spectrum
disorders (ASD) are more likely to exhibit comorbid mental health disorders (MHD) and other significant
behaviours (SB) in addition to the core symptoms of ASD. The purpose of this paper is to identify the
prevalence of comorbid MHD and behaviours in children and young people with ID and ASD in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach –The Reiss scale for children’s dual diagnosis was administered by
parents and teachers of 222 Egyptian children and young people with mild/moderate ID and ASD to
screen for MHD and SB. The mean age of children and young people was 12.3 years (SD ¼3.64), with
75.6 per cent male.
Findings –The results revealed that 62.2 per cent of children and young people with ID and ASD had high
rates of comorbid MHD and behaviour disorders were shown in 64.4 per cent of the participated children and
young people. The results identified anger, anxiety and psychosis being the most frequently diagnosed
disorders while crying spells and pica were the most SB. No differences were found between the male
and female with ID and ASD in the current study.
Research limitations/implications –Mental health assessment of children and young people with ID and
ASD will help to highlight the needs of these vulnerable children and develop the appropriate services.
Originality/value –The findings highlight the prevalence of MHD in children and young people with ID and
ASD in Egypt. This has implications on the assessment of comorbid disorders and services needed for
children with ID and ASD in Egypt.
Keywords Egypt, Mental health, Children, Intellectual disabilities, Comorbidity, Autism spectrum disorder
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
There is substantial evidence emphasising that children and young people with intellectual
disabilities (ID) are more vulnerable to experience comorbid mental health disorders (MHD) than
typically developed children (Emerson and Hatton, 2007; Einfeid et al., 2011; Munir, 2016).
A prevalence of 36 per cent comorbid MHD including problem behaviours has been
reported in children and young people with ID, compared with 8 per cent in those without ID
(Hughes-McCormack et al., 2017). Similarly, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at
a significantly higher risk of comorbid psychopathology (De Bruin et al., 2007; Matson and
Nebel-Schwalm, 2007; Parr et al., 2011; Salazar et al., 2015; Lever and Geurts, 2016). Mattila
et al. (2010) reported 74 per cent multiple comorbid psychiatric disorders in children with ASD,
suggesting that behavioural disorders were shown in 44 per cent.
Although research evidence has indicated that children and young people with comorbid ID and
ASD are more prone to experience MHD compared to individuals without ASD, there is still disputed
Received 9 May 2018
Revised 1 September 2018
8 October 2018
25 January 2019
21 April 2019
11 May 2019
Accepted 17 May 2019
This research received no specific
grant from any funding agency in
the public, commercial or not-for-
profit sectors. The author thanks
the comments and feedback of
the two anonymous reviewers.
Ereny Gobrial is based at the
Department of Mental Health,
Faculty of Education, Zagazig
University, Zagazig, Egypt.
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-05-2018-0026 VOL. 13 NO. 5 2019, pp.173-181, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282
j
ADVANCESIN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
j
PAGE173
To continue reading
Request your trial