A review of recent clinical measures that can be used to support psychological therapies with adults with intellectual disabilities
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-01-2022-0005 |
| Published date | 09 March 2022 |
| Date | 09 March 2022 |
| Pages | 157-168 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
| Author | Thomas Richard Gourley,Luke Yates |
A review of recent clinical measures that
can be used to support psychological
therapies with adults with
intellectual disabilities
Thomas Richard Gourley and Luke Yates
Abstract
Purpose –Psychometrically sound measures are essential for clinical practiceto provide appropriate
therapeuticinput. Vlissides et al. (2016) reviewed measures usedin psychological therapies with people
who have intellectual disabilities (ID). This paper aims to review the evidence for the psychometric
propertiesof recent clinical measures published since/overlookedby Vlissides et al. (2016).
Design/methodology/approach –A literature search was conducted to identify relevant clinical
measures. Experts in thefield also were contacted. Twenty papers were identified,relating to five novel
clinical measures: psychological therapies outcome scale –intellectual disabilities, clinical outcome in
routine evaluation –learning disabilities scale 30, quality of early relatedness rating scale, scale of
emotionaldevelopment –short and the Frankish assessmentof the impact of trauma.
Findings –Evidence was found supporting a proportion of the psychometric properties of each
measure, and some measures were found to be useful in directing interventions and informing clinical
decisions. None of the measures identified, however, are yet to be fully psychometrically investigated,
requiringfurther research.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’ knowledge,this paper is the first to review the evidence of
psychometric properties for thesefive emerging clinical measures and as such contributes an original
perspectiveon their current state and requirementsfor future development.
Keywords Emotional development, Psychological distress, Intellectual disability, Outcome measure,
Attachment traits, Clinical measure
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
To provide person-centred psychological therapy and to evaluate the effectiveness of
psychological informed interventions, it is paramount that a clinician has psychometrically
sound tools to assess various psychological constructs. Although valid and reliable
measures have been established for use with the general population (Barkham et al., 2005;
Beck et al., 1996; Osman et al., 1997), these measures may be unsuitable for people who
have ID because of wording, length of administration and the population used to establish
their psychometric properties. Therefore, clinicians have sought to develop specific
measures for use in services for people who have ID.
The British Psychological Society has published guidance on delivering psychological
therapies with people with ID (Beail, 2016); in which, Vlissides et al. (2016) provided a
review of self-report outcome measures for adults with ID. Ten measures were identified by
searching clinical studies. These measures were evaluated using Fitzpatrick et al.’s (1998)
Thomas Richard Gourley
and Luke Yates are both
based at the Barnsley Adult
Learning Disability Health
Service, South West
Yorkshire Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust, Barnsley,
UK.
Received 18 January 2022
Revised 27 January 2022
4 February 2022
Accepted 4 February 2022
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-01-2022-0005 VOL. 16 NO. 3 2022, pp. 157-168, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282 jADVANCES IN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES jPAGE157
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