Prevalence and sequelae of self-reported and other-reported sexual abuse in adults with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Sexual victimisation is an important problem that affects millions of people around the world, especially those with some kind of disability. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-reported and documented sexual abuse in people with mild or moderate intellectual disability and to analyse the sequelae that such experiences can have on their psychosocial health.

METHODS: The sample consisted of 360 adults (50% men and 50% women) between 18 and 55 years of age (M = 39.87; standard deviation = 10.55).

RESULTS: The prevalence of sexual abuse is 6.10% when it is self-reported (9.4% in women and 2.8% in men) and 28.6% when it is reported by professionals (27.8% in women and 29.4% in men). People who self-report cases of abuse present poorer quality of life, more negative attitudes towards sex and a lower capacity to identify situations that entail a risk of sexual abuse. Individuals who have suffered documented cases of abuse are more likely to present encopresis, social isolation, self-harm and a higher number of suicide attempts.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results evidence the need to have access to all sources of information so as to be able to obtain prevalence figures that match the real situation and to perform a proper analysis of the sequelae.