Deprivation worsens mental health of children with intellectual disabilities

Children with intellectual disabilities face greater mental health difficulties when they are from a disadvantaged background, finds a new study.

The study, led by University College London in collaboration with Cardiff University, found that children and young people with intellectual developmental disabilities from more socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds experience greater emotional and behavioural difficulties and are more likely to report mental health conditions.

Lead author, Honorary Research Fellow Irene Lee from UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said: “Children with intellectual developmental disabilities can face significant mental health challenges, and families experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage may have additional difficulties in accessing the support they need.”

The research team examined 2,778 children and young people between the ages of four and 25, across the UK from the UK-wide ‘Intellectual Disability and Mental Health: Assessing the Genomic Impact on Neurodevelopment’ (IMAGINE-ID) cohort, who had intellectual developmental disabilities caused by genetic conditions - such as 16p11.2 microdeletion syndrome, Prader-Willi or Angelman syndrome - some of whom had inherited variations.

Parents or caregivers completed detailed questionnaires about their child’s health, development and behaviour.

Meanwhile, socioeconomic disadvantage was measured using three main indicators: neighbourhood deprivation, eligibility for free school meals and parental education level. The researchers then linked the questionnaire responses with the measures of deprivation to examine how social disadvantage relates to mental health outcomes.

The study found that children with intellectual developmental disabilities who were living in more deprived neighbourhoods, those eligible for free school meals, and those whose parents had lower levels of education were more likely to experience emotional and behavioural difficulties - such as low mood, stress-related physical symptoms, conduct problems or peer relationship problems.

They were also more likely to have mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Children eligible for free school meals were 2.5 times as likely to have a reported diagnosis of major depression and 2.3 times as likely to have conduct disorder as children who were not eligible.

The researchers found no clear pattern showing that children with more severe learning disabilities experienced greater mental health difficulties. Instead, socioeconomic disadvantage was consistently associated with poorer mental health outcomes.

Emeritus Professor David Skuse, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said: “Our evidence reinforces the necessity of recognising the wider challenges faced by families caring for children with intellectual developmental disabilities. Financial pressures, caring responsibilities and difficulties accessing specialist support may add to the challenges these families experience, although this study could not establish the reasons behind the associations.”

Professor Marianne van den Bree, Cardiff University, said: “Parents of children with intellectual developmental disabilities caused by a genetic condition have told us how hard it can be to find and secure the support their child needs. Accessing help with learning difficulties through special educational needs (SEN) support or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or obtaining an assessment for a mental health condition, can be a lengthy and challenging process. Yet, providing support as early as possible can make a real difference to a child’s development and wellbeing.”