Responsivity to criminogenic need in forensic intellectual disability services.

BACKGROUND: Research has shown for some time that addressing criminogenic need is one of the crucial aspects of reducing reoffending in all types of offenders. Criminogenic need such as anger or inappropriate sexual interest is considered to be crucial in the commission of the offence. The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent to which forensic services address the needs of those accepted into services. METHOD: This study reviews the treatment for 197 offenders with intellectual disability accepted into a range of services. Participants' case files were examined to ascertain the extent to which need was addressed through recognised therapies. A standard pro forma was used on which we had established good reliability across four research assistants. RESULTS: The most frequently referred problems were violence and sexual offending. Specialist forensic intellectual disability community services were significantly more likely to provide treatment specifically designed to address index behaviours when compared to generic community services and secure services. CONCLUSIONS: Various possible explanations of these findings are explored including staffing levels, diagnosed mental illness, expertise of staff and clarity of purpose in services.

Brief report: the sexual and physical abuse histories of offenders with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Some studies have found higher rates of childhood sexual abuse in sex offenders while others have failed to find such relationships. METHOD: This study reviews the sexual and physical abuse histories of 156 male sex offenders with intellectual disability (ID), 126 non-sexual male offenders with ID and 27 female offenders with ID. RESULTS: Sexual offenders reported a higher rate of sexual abuse in childhood than non-sexual male offenders (32.6% vs. 17.8%), while the opposite was true for non-accidental injury (16.0% vs. 32.5%). Female offenders reported the highest rates of sexual abuse in childhood (59.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Some specificity of childhood abuse was evident in the male cohorts suggesting limited evidence of a developmental pathway to offending, while the women were a group highly vulnerable to all forms of abuse.

Structure, fit and coherence of two circumplex assessments of personality in a population with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Little research has been conducted investigating the way in which personality constructs relate to people with intellectual disabilities. The small amount of research that does exist suggests that underlying personality structure may be considerably different to that found in mainstream research. This hypothesis is, however, untested because so little work has been conducted with this population. METHOD: Two circumplex models, the Interpersonal Adjective Scales and the CIRCLE, were employed to explore the factor structure, coherence and fit of these models with this population. One hundred and twenty-three participants from forensic intellectual disability services were rated by staff on the assessments, although not all assessments were completed for all participants. RESULTS: The factor structures for both assessments conform broadly with a theoretical structure. Hypotheses concerning the magnitude and direction of Spearman's correlations both within and between assessments were generally confirmed. CONCLUSION: While results would support the applicability of mainstream personality assessments to this client group, cautions were expressed in relation to the source of the sample and to the method of data collection.

Emotional and behavioural problems in offenders with intellectual disability: comparative data from three forensic services.

BACKGROUND: Despite an increasing knowledge base concerning the assessment of emotional and behavioural problems in people with intellectual disabilities (ID), relatively little research has examined such problems in offenders with ID. METHODS: The study assessed 172 male offenders with ID in three service settings (high, medium-low security and community) using the Behaviour Rating Scale of the Emotional Problem Scales (EPS), with the aim of assessing differences in Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviour Problems. RESULTS: Normative information is presented on the Behaviour Rating Scale of the EPS across three levels of forensic ID care. It was found that offenders in higher secure care scored higher on sub-scales reflecting physical aggression than those in lower secure care. However, there was no difference in terms of other Externalizing Behaviour Problems, such as verbal aggression, non-compliance or hyperactivity. In addition, those offenders in higher secure care scored significantly higher on all Internalizing Behaviour Problems sub-scales, including anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed, including the utility of the EPS as a measure of clinical need and treatment outcome.