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Intellectual disability in young people in custody in N ew S outh W ales, A ustralia – prevalence and markers
Author(s) -
Haysom L.,
Indig D.,
Moore E.,
Gaskin C.
Publication year - 2014
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/jir.12109
Subject(s) - intellectual disability , intelligence quotient , disadvantage , wechsler adult intelligence scale , psychology , borderline intellectual functioning , psychiatry , cognition , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , gerontology , medicine , political science , law
Background Intellectual disability ( ID ) is known to be more common in incarcerated groups, especially incarcerated youth. A boriginal young people have higher rates of ID , and make up half of all youth in juvenile custody in N ew S outh W ales ( NSW ), A ustralia. We aimed to describe the prevalence of possible ID and borderline intellectual functioning ( BIF ) in young people in NSW custody, and to describe the association between possible ID and A boriginality after adjusting for the inequalities in social disadvantage. Methods Baseline study of all youth in NSW C ustodial C entres between A ugust and O ctober 2009, with 18‐month follow‐up. Using W echsler I ntelligence S cale for C hildren – F ourth E dition ( WISC ‐ IV ) and W echsler A dult I ntelligence S cale – F ourth E dition ( WAIS ‐ IV ) cognitive assessments, possible ID was defined as E xtremely L ow I ntellectual Q uotient range ( F ull S cale I ntellectual Q uotient, FSIQ < 70), and possible BIF was defined as B orderline IQ range ( FSIQ < 80). Risk factors for possible ID and BIF included age, gender, Aboriginality, socio‐economic disadvantage, offending history and psychological disorders. Results N = 295 (65%) of all young people in NSW custody completed cognitive and psychological assessments (87% male, 50% A boriginal, average age 17 years). Almost one half (45.8%) of young people had borderline or lower intellectual functioning (by IQ assessment), and 14% had an IQ in the extremely low range ( FSIQ < 70), indicating a possible ID . Aboriginal participants were three times more likely than non‐ A boriginal participants to have a possible ID , but after accounting for the excess disadvantage in the A boriginal group, A boriginality was no longer a marker of ID . Incarceration from a young age and psychosis were significantly associated with possible ID in A boriginal participants, compared with A boriginal participants first incarcerated at a later age, and A boriginal participants without psychosis. Conclusion The inequalities in criminal justice between A boriginal and non‐ A boriginal youth may exacerbate or contribute to the intellectual impairment of those incarcerated from a young age. A boriginal young people with psychosis are also at high risk of cognitive impairments that might indicate a possible co‐morbid ID , and these patients should be diverted at court into community assessment services, rather than incarcerated. These results highlight a need for better and earlier identification of young people (particularly A boriginal youth) at risk of ID and other co‐morbidities in the juvenile justice system.