A longitudinal study of psychopathology in people with intellectual disability

该项目将进一步发展一项国际上独一无二的15年跟踪研究的机会，该研究对患有ID的年轻澳大利亚人的心理健康进行了研究。我们已经表明，这一群体患有严重情绪和行为问题的风险是个人的2-3倍，这对他们的家庭和照顾者以及社区来说是一个额外的沉重负担。这些问题通常没有被认识到，但在社区中与精神分裂症一样常见。本研究将继续采用问卷调查和深入访谈的方式，追踪青少年及其家人或照顾者的心理健康状况。这项研究始于1990年，有近1000名4-18岁的ID年轻人，他们的进展每2-3年进行一次审查，超过75%的原始组。在接下来的5年里，我们计划跟踪他们在年轻成人生活的关键阶段的心理健康状况。在此期间，患抑郁症和精神分裂症等精神疾病的风险最大，适应新的日常职业、独立生活或寄宿照料以及远离家庭的社会接触的压力也最大。我们将能够研究年轻人所面临的特定情绪和行为问题，这些年轻人具有主要的已知ID原因，如Down，Fragile X，Prader Willi和William Syndrome，以及那些患有自闭症的人。长期随访研究的最大好处是，它使我们能够研究早期家庭环境，心理和生物因素与随后的心理健康问题之间的联系。我们还可以证明，精神疾病在一个年轻人ID对家庭和父母的心理健康的影响。这些发现对更好地诊断，改善护理和管理，早期干预和预防这些常见的严重和未被认识到的心理健康问题具有重要意义，这些问题存在于澳大利亚年轻人及其家人和照顾者的弱势群体中。

This project will further develop the research opportunities of an internationally unique 15 year follow up study of the mental health of young Australians with ID. We have shown that this group has 2-3 times the risk of suffering serious emotional and behavioural problems that are an added heavy burden on the individual, their family and carers and the community. These problems often are not recognised but are as common as schizophrenia in the community. The study will continue to use a combination of questionnaire survey and in depth interviews of the young adults and their families or carers to track the course of their mental health. The study commenced in 1990 with nearly 1000 young people with ID aged 4-18 years and their progress has been reviewed every 2-3 years in over 75% of the original group. During the next 5 years we plan to follow their mental health during the critical stage of young adult life. During this time there is the greatest risk of mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia and the stresses of adjusting to new daily occupations, independent living or residential care and social contact away from the family. We will be able to study the specific emotional and behavioural problems faced by young adults with the main known causes of ID such as Down, Fragile X, Prader Willi and William Syndromes, as well as those who have autism. The great benefit of a long term follow up study is that it allows us to study the links between earlier family environmental, psychological and biological factors and subsequent mental health problems. We can also demonstrate the impact that mental illness in a young person with ID has on the family and parental mental health. The findings have implications for better diagnosis, improved care and management, early intervention and prevention of these common severe and under recognized mental health problems in this disadvantaged group of young Australians and their families and carers.