People with Intellectual Disabilities' Experiences of Mental Health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to Investigate how People with Intellectual Disabilities View and Understand their own Mental Health Problems
IRAS ID
163006
Contact name
Samantha Tomlinson
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 25 days
Research summary
The prevalence of mental health problems in people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) is higher than in the general population (Cooper, Smiley, Morrison, Williamson, & Allan, 2007). Within this study an intellectual disability is defined as a significant impairment of intellectual functioning (an IQ score of 69 or less), significant impairment of adaptive/social functioning and the age of onset before adulthood (British Psychological Society, 2000). Knowing how people with intellectual disabilities view and experience mental health problems is an important first step in promoting access, improving services and generally raising awareness of mental health within a group identified as vulnerable.
This research will examine how people with intellectual disabilities experience and perceive their mental health problems. Participants will be adults, aged 18 years or over, with mild intellectual disabilities who have been diagnosed with a mental health problem. Participants will be recruited from Berkshire through Community Teams for People with Learning Disabilities (CTPLDs), day centres, sheltered work schemes, charities and self-advocacy groups for people with intellectual disabilities.
Participants will engage with an in depth interview with a researcher which will take place at the participant’s home, or a neutral location in the community (such as a day centre). The interviews will generally last between 60 and 90 minutes, depending on the amount of material provided by the participants. The interviews will be transcribed, and the data analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The results will then be disseminated in a peer reviewed journal.REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1400
Date of REC Opinion
3 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion