Health knowledge and expected outcomes of risky behaviour: a comparative study of non-disabled adolescents and young people with intellectual and physical disabilities

Pownall, Jaycee Dawn (2010) Health knowledge and expected outcomes of risky behaviour: a comparative study of non-disabled adolescents and young people with intellectual and physical disabilities. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Research exploring the physical health needs of people with intellectual disabilities is increasing. Unfortunately, first hand accounts from young people with intellectual disabilities remain largely absent. This is despite the fact that many of these individuals, albeit to a lesser extent than their non-disabled peers, are engaging in behaviours that can have a potentially negative impact on their health status (poor dietary habits, excessive alcohol consumption, and risky sexual behaviour). While knowledge alone does not always result in the adoption of healthier behavioural choices, it is an important prerequisite if young people are too keep themselves safe. In addition, understanding what young people know about health is pivotal to the formulation and development of appropriate education programmes and services.

The limited research that does exist suggests that young people with intellectual disabilities have low levels of health knowledge, particularly in relation to sexual health and sexuality. Whereas public health messages are widely available concerning topics such as healthy eating and alcohol, information regarding sexual health is less accessible, owing to it being a private area of people’s lives. Much of our social/sexual development is largely experiential and gained through informal routes, such as interacting with peers. Yet the social networks of young people with intellectual disabilities may be compromised, which could partly account for the low levels of sexual knowledge reported. In support of this, sexual knowledge is also limited in young people with physical disabilities, another socially excluded group. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to further our understanding of how key features of social exclusion - impoverished social networks and access to sources of health information and experience - may impact upon young people with disabilities’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in relation to healthy eating, alcohol, pregnancy/contraception and HIV/AIDS. A substantial part of the research process was concerned with the development and piloting of appropriate methods with which to address these aims. Through structured and semi-structured questionnaires and vignette-based methodology, data from over 100 young people, aged 16-25, has been analysed and interpreted. Three groups of young people took part in the study, those with i) Intellectual disabilities (ID), ii) Physical disabilities (PD), and iii) typically developing, non-disabled (ND).

With regards to health knowledge, the ID group had the poorest scores on the healthy eating and alcohol scales. However, the largest differences between the groups were related to health issues considered to be more personal and private, such as pregnancy and contraception, with both groups of young people with disabilities having lower levels of sexual health knowledge than their non-disabled peers. Thus, deficits in sexual knowledge did not just appear to be the result of the ID group’s cognitive deficits. Moreover, content analyses of open-ended questions on the questionnaire showed that all three groups held a surprising number of misconceptions about sexuality. It was also notable that young people with ID reported discussing sexual issues with friends and family less frequently than their non-disabled peers and reported being more reliant upon formal sources of sex education, such as that received through school or college. In addition, when participants with intellectual and physical disabilities were asked about how others would react to them drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and being open to a possible sexual encounter, using vignettes, they anticipated more negative attitudes from their friends for engaging in these potentially risky behaviours then their non-disabled peers. Although the majority of young people with disabilities also reported that their parents would disapprove of their actions, in contrast to their non-disabled peers, most of the young people with disabilities said that their parents’ views would matter to them.

This research has highlighted the importance of people’s unique learning and socialisation experiences in shaping not only their health knowledge, but also their attitudes and beliefs. A number of implications for health education and for professionals working with both individuals with disabilities and their families are outlined. New avenues for research are also suggested.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Intellectual disability, physical disability, young people, adolescents, social exclusion, healthy eating, alcohol, sexual health, health knowledge, attitudes
• Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General); R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing
• Supervisor's Name: Jahoda, Prof. Andrew and Wilson, Dr. Sarah
• Date of Award: 2010
• Depositing User: Dr Jaycee Dawn Pownall
• Unique ID: glathesis:2010-1701
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 30 Apr 2010
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 13:45
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/1701