A review of the emotional, psychiatric and behavioural responses to bereavement in people with intellectual disabilities

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Abstract
Background  Our knowledge and understanding of grief and its consequences have grown rapidly in recent years. There is a growing understanding that bereavement and loss represent a very significant event in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). To date, there is no systematic review of the literature on the emotional, psychiatric and behavioural responses to bereavement in people with IDs.Method  This comprehensive literature review firstly examines the current opinion regarding the phenomenology of pathological grief in the general population. Research examining the ability of people with IDs to understand the concept of death is explored. In addition, a systematic review of the literature looking at the emotional, behavioural and psychiatric responses to bereavement is carried out.Results  Bereavement and loss have distinct effects on the mental health, behaviour and emotional lives of people with IDs. Following a bereavement, symptoms of depression and anxiety increase, and general behaviour is altered. Traumatic grief symptoms have not yet been specifically studied and quantified.Conclusions  Particular difficulties are associated with researching the effects of bereavement on people with IDs. Further work needs to be done to more accurately describe the nature, time‐scale, severity and frequency of the symptoms of traumatic grief in people with IDs, in order to improve assessment and treatment of affected individuals.

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