Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Long-Term Behavioral Health Care Unbundled: The Impact Of Comorbidity And Aggression On Caregiver Strain And Service Costs For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Kristine Tevis

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Individuals with intellectual disabilities represent a unique population with an array of needs. High rates of comorbid mental and physical health conditions as well as the presence of disruptive behaviors pose significant challenges to service providers and funding entities. Existing cost models may underestimate these specialized needs and limit access to required services. Through secondary analysis of archival health data from individuals with intellectual disabilities at one agency in Nebraska (N=73), the current study examines how individual characteristics and aggression influence cost and caregiver strain from a systems theory perspective. Bivariate comparisons revealed that more severe aggression and more frequent …