The association between self‐report and informant reports of emotional problems in a high secure intellectual disability sample

The study explored the relationship between self and informant reports of emotional problems in a forensic intellectual disability sample. The Emotional Problems Scales (EPS) (Prout & Strohmer, 1991), which comprises a Self Report Inventory (EPS‐SRI) and an informant Behaviour Rating Scale (EPS‐BRS), was routinely administered to 30 individuals with intellectual disability in a secure forensic setting, as part of a standard clinical assessment procedure. It was hypothesised that there would be a moderate relationship between corresponding scores on the EPS‐SRI and EPS‐BRS. However, there were no significant relationships between corresponding scales of the EPS‐SRI and EPS‐BRS, apart from the EPS‐SRI and EPS‐BRS scales measuring anxiety (r = .376, p<.05). The results continued to be non‐significant, even when positive impression management was controlled for. The findings suggest little relationship between self and informant ratings in a forensic intellectual disability sample, and therefore support the need to gather information from multiple sources when assessing such individuals.