Suchergebnisse

Intellectual disability was recognised in ancient Indian literature, but organised services have a history of just five decades. India shares many features of low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries regarding intellectual disability. There is a low level of awareness about its nature, causes and interventions. One can come across many superstitions, myths and misconceptions about intellectual disability. In general, services are inadequate, being concentrated in big cities and urban areas. There is generally limited access to support services and few government benefits, and these, in any case, are often of little value (World Health Organization, 2007). Locally and nationally, there are few relevant and reliable epidemiological data on the prevalence of intellectual disability. However, there have been some positive developments within the past three decades, and they are the focus of this paper.

Background: Studies are sparse on caretaker perceptions about self-cutting (SC) in institutionalised adolescents. Methods: Five caretakers in a shelter home for adolescent girls were interviewed and the data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Nine major themes emerged: expected reactions from others led to secrecy; reasons were relational and academic difficulties; benefits were control of emotions/thoughts or to get others' attention; learning happened by witnessing and change in thinking; challenges were systemic contagion, counselling repeaters of SC and adolescent infatuation; responses were 'we are empathetic' and 'friends are helpful, but have a limit'; goals for self and reflection were helpful to stop SC; vulnerabilities were lack of skills and problems faced; and protective factors were good skills and family relations. These novel findings contribute to the existing sparse literature and are useful for gaining a deeper understanding about and better management of SC.