Abstract

Background: Intellectual disability (ID) is defined as “a disorder with onset during the developmental period that includes both intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits in conceptual, social, and practical domains.” Many psychosocial factors influence the central nervous system of developing child and influences child’s psychological development. Therefore, an attempt has been made with this study to find the nature of associations between types of ID and important socio- demographic variables in northeastern India. Objectives: To find out the sociodemographic variables of patients with ID, distribution of ID according to its types, and correlation between types of ID with various sociodemographic variables.
Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients above the age of 4 years were taken serially from outpatient and inpatient departments of the Department of Psychiatry, Silchar Medical College and Hospital, fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for ID according to DSM-5. The classification of ID was done according to the scores obtained using the following tools: Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Children (MISIC), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition, and The Vineland Social Maturity Scale. Assessment of scoring was done by clinical psychologist, a senior faculty member of the department.
Results: Positive correlations were found among various sociodemographic factors and the presence of ID. Distribution of mild, moderate, severe, and profound ID among the study population was 42%, 40%, 17%, and 1%, respectively. We found a strong association between the distributions of ID and few important sociodemographic variables, some of which are modifiable and may help in the formulation of prevention strategies. Conclusion: Low parental education, late presentation in health-care facilities, low-paying high laboring job of parents, and burden of belonging to lower socioeconomic strata of the society significantly contributes in development of ID.