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Self‐injurious behaviour in people with mental handicap: a total population study
Author(s) -
OLIVER C.,
MURPHY G. H.,
CORBETT J. A.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2788.1987.tb01351.x
Subject(s) - psychology , psychiatry , mental handicap , population , developmental psychology , medicine , environmental health
ABSTRACT. A survey of self‐injurious behaviour in people receiving services for mental handicap was carried out in one health region. Six hundred and sixteen adults and children were found to have engaged in self‐injurious behaviour sufficient to have caused tissue damage in the previous 4 months and 596 of these were screened. Half were resident in hospital while 28% were in non‐hospital residential care and the remainder (21%) were living at home. Nearly one‐fifth (19%) showed self‐injurious behaviour, of one or more types, at a rate of at least once per hour and a further 13% wore protective or restraining devices for all or part of the day or night. Only 2% were enrolled on formal psychological treatment programmes but nearly half were receiving psychotropic drugs (excluding anticonvulsants).