Health knowledge and the impact of social exclusion on young people with intellectual disabilities

Pownall, J., Wilson, S. and Jahoda, A. (2020) Health knowledge and the impact of social exclusion on young people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 33(1), pp. 29-38. (doi: 10.1111/jar.12331) (PMID:28116840)

Abstract

Background: Cognitive impairments are often assumed to underlie individuals’ difficulties with understanding health issues. However, it was predicted that socially excluded individuals would have greater difficulty gaining understanding of sensitive topics related to sexuality than other public health messages, such as alcohol use. Method: The health knowledge of 31 typically developing young people, 29 young people with mild intellectual disabilities (ID) and 23 participants with physical disabilities but no cognitive impairments was compared. Results: The largest group differences were related to more private and personal health issues, such as pregnancy/contraception. Both groups of young people with disabilities had less knowledge of pregnancy/contraception than their non-disabled peers. Thus, deficits in this sexual knowledge did not just appear to be the result of cognitive deficits. Conclusions: The findings suggest social exclusion may contribute to young people with intellectual disabilities’ poorer knowledge of pregnancy and contraception. The results have implications for interventions

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jahoda, Professor Andrew and Wilson, Dr Sarah and Pownall, Dr Jaycee
• Authors: Pownall, J., Wilson, S., and Jahoda, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 1360-2322
• ISSN (Online): 1468-3148
• Published Online: 24 January 2017
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 John Wiley and Sons Ltd
• First Published: First published in Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities 33(1): 29-38
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy