Abstract

Women without intellectual disabilities are more likelyto develop mental health problems as a result of physiologicalfunctioning and psychosocial risk factors. However, little is knownabout the mental health of women with intellectual disabilities.The aim of this study was to explore a small group of women’sperceptions of the risk and protective factors pertaining to theirmental health conditions.Twelve semi-structured interviews wereconducted in 2007 in Northern Ireland.Thematic content analysisidentified three risk factors and four protective/resilient factors.None of the women identified physiological functioning as a riskfactor. Results suggest that women with intellectual disabilitiesexperience psychosocial risk factors similar to those reported bywomen without intellectual disability. Additional risk factors placethem at higher risk of developing mental health problems.However, more research is required.Keywords intellectual disability; mental