Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Intellectual Disability and Personality Disorder

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sexual Crime and Intellectual Functioning

Part of the book series: Sexual Crime ((SEXCR))

  • 478 Accesses

Abstract

The presence of intellectual or inter-personal difficulties can present individuals with significant barriers to development of good lives. While traditional treatments have often been modified in order to accommodate intellectual difficulties, few services have developed an understanding of the potentially traumatic origins of personality difficulties and how these may impact on both treatment engagement and healthy living. This chapter explores the manifestation of personality disorder in people who have a learning disability and have committed sexual offences and the impact that the core difficulties may have on the therapeutic process. Treatment approaches are considered in the context of trauma, criminogenic need and therapeutic engagement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alexander, R., & Cooray, S. (2003). Diagnosis of personality disorders in learning disability. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 182(S44), s28–s31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, R. T., Crouch, K., Halstead, S., & Piachaud, J. (2006). Long‐term outcome from a medium secure service for people with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(4), 305–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Pub.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Bremner, J. D., Walker, J. D., Whitfield, C. H., Perry, B. D., … Giles, W. H. (2006). The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 256(3), 174–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashworth, S., & Brotherton, N. (2018). “We can feel good”: evaluation of an adapted DBT informed skills programme in medium security. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 12(5/6), 184–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn, R., Logan, C., Renwick, S. J., & Donnelly, J. P. (2005). Higher-order dimensions of personality disorder: Hierarchical structure and relationships with the five-factor model, the interpersonal circle, and psychopathy. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19(6), 597–623.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boer, D. P., Tough, S., & Haaven, J. (2004). Assessment of risk manageability of intellectually disabled sex offenders. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17, 2750–2283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brackenridge, I., & Morrissey, C. (2010). Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a high secure forensic learning disability population: Future directions for practice. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 4(3), 49–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. F., Brown, M. Z., & Dibiasio, P. (2013). Treating individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviors with adapted dialectical behavior therapy. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 6(4), 280–303.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camilleri, & Quinsey, V. (2011). Appraising the risk of sexual and violent recidivism among intellectually disabled offenders. Psychology, Crime & Law., 17, 59–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, D. P., Whitfield, C. L., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Edwards, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2004). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 82(2), 217–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crowther, S., & Clayton, P. (2013). Cognitive analytic therapy integrated into a therapeutic community approach. In Cognitive Analytic Therapy for People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Carers. London: Jessica Kinglsey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowther, S., Withers, P., Chatburn, V., Capewell, P., & Sharples, D. (2013). A community groups approach to managing interpersonal violence in an intellectual disabilities service. In Proceedings of the 8th European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry (pp. 412–413).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong, M., Giles, W. H., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Williams, J. E., Chapman, D. P., & Anda, R. F. (2004). Insights into causal pathways for ischemic heart disease: Adverse childhood experiences study. Circulation, 110(13), 1761–1766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dube, S. R., Felitti, V. J., Dong, M., Chapman, D. P., Giles, W. H., & Anda, R. F. (2003). Childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction and the risk of illicit drug use: The adverse childhood experiences study. Pediatrics, 111(3), 564–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, E. (2003). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with and without intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 47(1), 51–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evershed, S., Tennant, A., Boomer, D., Rees, A., Barkham, M., & Watson, A. (2003). Practice‐based outcomes of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) targeting anger and violence, with male forensic patients: A pragmatic and non‐contemporaneous comparison. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 13(3), 198–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felitti, V. J. (2002). The relation between adverse childhood experiences and adult health: Turning gold into lead. The Permanente Journal, 6(1), 44.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, K., Butler, N., Hughes, K., Quigg, Z., Bellis, M. A., Barker, P., … Lane, P. (2016). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Hertfordshire, Luton and Northamptonshire. Liverpool: Liverpool John Moores University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (2014). The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(1), 6–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, N. S., Fitzgerald, S., Taylor, J., MacCulloch, M. J., & Snowden, R. J. (2007). Predicting future reconviction in offenders with intellectual disabilities: The predictive efficacy of VRAG, PCL-SV, and the HCR-20. Psychological Assessment, 19(4), 474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hastings, R. P., Beck, A., Daley, D., & Hill, C. (2005). Symptoms of ADHD and their correlates in children with intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 26(5), 456–468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behavior Therapy, 35(4), 639–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillis, S. D., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Nordenberg, D., & Marchbanks, P. A. (2000). Adverse childhood experiences and sexually transmitted diseases in men and women: A retrospective study. Pediatrics, 106(1), 11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, B., Faulkner, E., & James, T. (2015). Outcomes from the national high secure learning disability service: Findings and challenges. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 9(3), 116–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horner-Johnson, W., & Drum, C. E. (2006). Prevalence of maltreatment of people with intellectual disabilities: A review of recently published research. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 12(1), 57–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, K., Bellis, M. A., Hardcastle, K. A., Sethi, D., Butchart, A., Mikton, C., … Dunne, M. P. (2017). The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 2(8), e356–e366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S., & Morrissey, C. (2010). Personality disorder in a forensic intellectual disability sample. Presentation at International Forensic Mental health services conference, Vancouver.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, L. (2010). Working with people who have committed sexual offences with personality disorder diagnoses. In Using Time not Doing Time: Practitioner Perspectives on Personality Disorder and Risk (pp. 125–140). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levenson, J. S., Willis, G. M., & Prescott, D. S. (2016). Adverse childhood experiences in the lives of male sex offenders: Implications for trauma-informed care. Sexual Abuse, 28(4), 340–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay, W. R., Murphy, L., Smith, G., Murphy, D., Edwards, Z., Chittock, C.,& Young, S. J. (2004). The dynamic risk assessment and management system: An assessment of immediate risk of violence for individuals with offending and challenging behaviour. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17(4), 267–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay, W. R., Hogue, T., Taylor, J. L., Mooney, P., Steptoe, L., Johnston, S., ... & Smith, A. H. (2006). Two studies on the prevalence and validity of personality disorder in three forensic intellectual disability samples. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 17(3), 485–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay, W. R., Steptoe, L., Hogue, T. E., Taylor, J. L., Mooney, P., Haut, F., … O’Brien, G. (2007). Relationship between assessed emotion, personality, personality disorder and risk in offenders with intellectual disability. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 17, 385–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay, W. R., Whitefield, E., & Carson, D. (2007). An assessment for attitudes consistent with sexual offending for use with offenders with intellectual disabilities. Legal and Criminological Psychology., 12, 55–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay, W., Steptoe, L., & Haut, F. (2012). Brief report: The sexual and physical abuse histories of offenders with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 56(3), 326–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livesley, W. J. (2012). Integrated treatment: A conceptual framework for an evidence-based approach to the treatment of personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26(1), 17–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, P., Klinteberg, B., Batty, G. D., & Vågerö, D. (2009). Childhood intelligence predicts hospitalization with personality disorder in adulthood: evidence from a population-based study in Sweden. Journal of Personality Disorders, 23, 535–541.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C. (2003). The use of the PCL‐R in forensic populations with learning disability. The British Journal of Forensic Practice, 5(1), 20–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C., & Ingamells, B. (2011). Adapted dialectical behaviour therapy for male offenders with intellectual disability in a high secure environment: six years on. Journal of Learning Disability and Offending Behaviour, 2(1), 10–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C., & Taylor, J. (2014). Changes in personality disorder traits following 2 years of treatment in a secure therapeutic community milieu. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 7(4), 323–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C., Hogue, T., Mooney, P., Lindsay, W. R., Steptoe, L., Taylor, J. L., & Johnston, S. (2005). Applicability, reliability and validity of the psychopathy checklist—Revised in offenders with intellectual disabilities: Some initial findings. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 4, 207–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C., Mooney, P., Hogue, T., Lindsay, W. R., & Taylor, J. L. (2007a). The predictive validity of the PCL—R in offenders with intellectual disabilities in a high secure hospital setting: Institutional aggression. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 18, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C., Mooney, P., Hogue, T., Lindsay, W. R., & Taylor, J. L. (2007b). Predictive validity of the PCL—R in offenders with intellectual disabilities in a high security: Treatment progress. International Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 32, 125–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, C., Taylor, J., & Bennett, C. (2012). Evaluation of a therapeutic community intervention for men with intellectual disability and personality disorder. Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 3(1), 52–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novaco, R. W., & Taylor, J. L. (2015). Reduction of assaultive behavior following anger treatment of forensic hospital patients with intellectual disabilities. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 65, 52–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakdalan, J. A., Shaw, J., & Collier, V. (2010). Staying in the here‐and‐now: A pilot study on the use of dialectical behaviour therapy group skills training for forensic clients with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(6), 568–572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sex Offender Treatment Services Collaborative–Intellectual Disabilities (SOTSEC-ID). (2010). Effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioural treatment for men with intellectual disabilities at risk of sexual offending. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23(6), 537–551.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shingler, J., Sonnenberg, S. J., & Needs, A (2020). Psychologists as ‘the quiet ones with the power’: Understanding indeterminate sentenced prisoners’ experiences of psychological risk assessment in the United Kingdom, Psychology, Crime & Law. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2019.1708354

  • Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S., Singh, A. N., Adkins, A. D., & Singh, J. (2011). Can adult offenders with intellectual disabilities use mindfulness-based procedures to control their deviant sexual arousal? Psychology, Crime & Law, 17(2), 165–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Hwang, Y. S., Chan, J., Shogren, K. A., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2017). Mindfulness: an application of positive psychology in intellectual and developmental disabilities. In Handbook of Positive Psychology in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (pp. 65–79). Springer, Cham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, L. R., Lindsay, W. R., Murphy, L., & Young, S. J. (2008). Construct validity, reliability and predictive validity of the dynamic risk assessment and management system (DRAMS) in offenders with intellectual disability. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 13(2), 309–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. (2010). Psychotherapy for people with learning disabilities: creating possibilities and opportunities. A review of the literature. Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 1(3), 15–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. (2013). The evolution of a therapeutic community for offenders with a learning disability and personality disorder: part two–increasing responsivity. Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 34(1), 29–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. (2017). Compassion focussed working in secure forensic care. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 3(4), 287–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. (2018). Sticks and stones and broken bones; Cultivating the therapeutic relationship in the face of patient-therapist violence. Cultivating the therapeutic relationship Conference. Derby.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J., & Morrissey, C. (2012). Integrating treatment for offenders with an intellectual disability and personality disorder. The British Journal of Forensic Practice, 14(4), 302–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. L., Thorne, I., Robertson, A., & Avery, G. (2002). Evaluation of a group intervention for convicted arsonists with mild and borderline intellectual disabilities. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 12(4), 282–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J., Trout, S., Christopher, J., & Bland, A. (2012). A therapeutic community for offenders with intellectual disability and personality disorder: Inception and early experiences. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 6(4), 165–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J., Crowther, S., & Bryant, C. (2015). Therapeutic communities for people with intellectual disability and complex needs. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 9(3), 124–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torr, J. (2008). Personality disorder and offending in people with learning disabilities. Advances in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, 2(1), 4–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Kolk, B. A. (2003). Psychological trauma. American Psychiatric Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Kolk, B. A., Roth, S., Pelcovitz, D., Sunday, S., & Spinazzola, J. (2005). Disorders of extreme stress: The empirical foundation of a complex adaptation to trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress: Official Publication of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, 18(5), 389–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Kolk, B. A., Pynoos, R.S., Cicchetti, D., Cloitre, M., D’Andrea, W., Ford, J. D., Lieberman, A.F., Putnam, F. W., Saxe, G., Spinazzola, J. & Stolbach, B. C. (2009). Proposal to include a developmental trauma disorder diagnosis for children and adolescents in DSM-V. Unpublished manuscript. Verfügbar unter. (Zugriff: 20.5. 2011). http://www.cathymalchiodi.com/dtd_nctsn.pdf

  • Walton, J. (in press). Rehabilitation of Sexual deviancy in prisons. In B. Winder, N. Blagden, & L. Hamilton (Eds.), Forensic interventions for therapy and rehabilitation: Case studies and analysis. London: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield, C. L., Dube, S. R., Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2005). Adverse childhood experiences and hallucinations. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29(7), 797–810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zigler, E., & Burak, J. A. (1989). Personality development and the dually diagnosed persons. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 10, 225–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zigler, E., Bennett-Gates, D., Hodapp, R., & Henrich, C. C. (2002). Assessing personality traits of individuals with mental retardation. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 107(3), 181–193.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cygnet Healthcare, Derby, UK

    Jon Taylor

  2. Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust, Lincolnshire, UK

    Catrin Morrissey

Authors
  1. Jon Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Catrin Morrissey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jon Taylor .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. HMPPS Whatton, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Kerensa Hocken

  2. Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Rebecca Lievesley

  3. Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Belinda Winder

  4. Department of Counselling, Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, UK

    Helen Swaby

  5. Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Nicholas Blagden

  6. Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Phil Banyard

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Taylor, J., Morrissey, C. (2020). Intellectual Disability and Personality Disorder. In: Hocken, K., Lievesley, R., Winder, B., Swaby, H., Blagden, N., Banyard, P. (eds) Sexual Crime and Intellectual Functioning. Sexual Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52328-2_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation