Characteristics of Persons with Mental Retardation who have been Abused by Caregivers

Abstract

The relationship between specific characteristics of individuals with mental retardation, as rated by their teachers, and their abuse by residential caregivers was investigated. Teacher ratings of 91 abuse victims from five state training centers in Virginia for individuals with mental retardation were compared to 91 randomly selected control subjects from the same facilities. Discriminant analysis results indicated a significant relationship {p < .001) between abuse status and a linear combination of subject characteristics. In addition, the Pearson chisquare test of independence was used to test the relationship between individual characteristics and behaviors of subjects and abuse status. Results indicated a significant relationship {p < .05) between abuse status and teacher ratings of level of functioning and frequency of maladaptive behaviors. Implications for caregivers and educators are discussed.

Making sense of varying standards of care: the experiences of staff working in residential care environments for adults with learning disabilities

“…; Zirpoli et al . ). This literature highlights the multidimensional nature of care practices, whereby individual, interpersonal, organisational, environmental and cultural factors are all seen to contribute to the varying standards of care people receive.…”

Physical Abuse: Are Children With Disabilities at Greater Risk?

“…As professionals have begun to realize the significant contribution children make toward caregiver-child interactions, interest in the characteristics of children abused by caregivers has increased considerably (Rusch, Hall, & Griffin, 1986;Zirpoli, 1986;Zirpoli, Snell, & Loyd, 1987).…”

“…Meanwhile, two studies have explored this research (Rusch, Hall, & Griffin, 1986;Zirpoli, Snell & Loyd, 1987). These two studies compared groups of abused and nonabused clients living within institutional settings and found that some disabilities were significant in differentiating the abused from the nonabused clients.…”

“…The difference between the two groups on the aggression variable was very strong. In the Zirpoli, Snell, and Loyd (1987) study, 91 victims of physical abuse from five state training centers in Virginia for individuals with disabilities were compared to 91 randomly selected control clients from the same five facilities. The abused clients represented all confirmed cases of client abuse occurring from 1980 through 1985.…”

Evidence for Reciprocal Interaction Effects Among Adults with Self-Injury and Their Caregivers

“…Researchers have examined challenging behavior in relation to a number of specific caregiver factors, including its emotional effect on caregivers (Jones & Hastings, 2003; Wiegel, Langdon, Collins, & O’Brien, 2006), the role of caregivers in maintaining challenging behavior (Iwata et al, 1994; Oliver, 1995), and the confluence of caregiver attributions and beliefs on subsequent behavior toward persons with challenging behaviors (Bromley & Emerson, 1995; Hastings & Remington, 1994a). Challenging behavior is also known to increase the likelihood that an individual with IDD will experience abuse at the hands of caregivers (Baker & Allen, 2001; Zirpoli, Snell, & Loyd, 1987). A critical element common to each of these studies is the bidirectional interactions that take place between caregiver and client (Felce & Repp, 1992).…”