PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDER IN ASIAN ADULTS WITH LEARNING-DISABILITIES - PATTERNS OF SERVICE USE

Asian and white Caucasian adults with learning disabilities seen by th e Department of the Psychiatry of Learning Disabilities, Frith Hospita l, Leicester, England, in 1991 were studied. Asian adults with learnin g disabilities were under-represented with respect to the local popula tion (as measured by learning disability register), but not the popula tion of individuals with learning disabilities known to the psychiatri c services. Asians were significantly more likely to receive a psychia tric diagnosis, in particular that of psychosis, but there were striki ng similarities in the routes of referral, the number of contacts with the service and the range of defined disabilities.