Health and Social Needs of People with Low Intelligence

Published date22 July 2009
Pages22-27
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200900011
Date22 July 2009
AuthorJustine Schneider,Jennifer Clegg
Subject MatterHealth & social care
Mental Health Review Journal Volume 14 Issue 2 June 2009 © Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
22
RESEARCH
Justine Schneider
Professor of Mental Health and Social Care, School of Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham, UK
Jennifer Clegg
Associate Professor, School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK
Health and Social Needs of
People with Low Intelligence
Abstract
This paper explores the experiences of people with borderline and low intelligence when compared to
the general population. The aim was to explore whether people with low intelligence, who are rarely
considered apart from the general population, might have particular needs in relation to health or social
care. The method was secondary analysis of the ONS survey of psychiatric morbidity, 2000. Variables
associated with low intelligence were identified and entered into a logistic regression. We found that a
person with low intelligence was significantly more likely to be a smoker, have problems with paperwork
and be renting their home, and a significant subgroup was more likely to be friendless. The pursuit of social
justice and social inclusion may require greater attention to be paid to the health and well-being of people
with below-average intelligence.
Key words
Borderline intelligence, psychiatric morbidity, social justice, social inclusion, health; well-being
Background
This paper looks at the part that intellectual
functioning might play in social marginalisation.
It is concerned with people who have not been
given an ‘intellectual disabilities’ (ID) label
because their functioning is deemed to be within
the normal range. A scoping exercise on adults
facing chronic exclusion (Schneider, 2007) was
undertaken in the light of largely anecdotal
evidence that certain individuals are particularly
vulnerable to exploitation by others; they may
also behave impulsively and get into trouble
frequently. Such people often have difficulty
getting on with people, they may seem to have a
lot of bad luck and they find it hard to cope with
life. Their personal difficulties multiply because
these are not dealt with effectively. Those people
without a resilient support network of family and
friends, unless they receive prompt help from
other agencies, may be at risk of homelessness
and a downward spiral of disadvantage.
It has been recognised that this problematic
group of people is characterised by ‘chronic
exclusion’; they find it difficult to access services
because their specific needs are not sufficiently
severe, although these may fall into a number
of domains (health, legal, social, housing) with
implications for a range of agencies. If they do
qualify for help, this may be short term and lack
continuity between services, so they present
a challenge to public agencies. In the UK, the
problems presented have largely been defined
in relation to discrete age or diagnostic groups.
These include: young people with complex needs
(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005a),
disadvantaged adults (Office of the Deputy
Prime Minister, 2005b), older people (Office of
the Deputy Prime Minister, 2006) people with
personality disorder (NIMH(E), 2003) and people
with mental health problems in general (Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2004). One of the
key findings of the scoping exercise (Schneider,
2007) was that almost 40% of those identified
as having chaotic lives and multiple needs had
low intelligence, above the usual threshold for
learning disability. This has not previously been
recognised as a characteristic associated with
unmet needs.

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