Emotion regulation and angry mood among adolescents with externalizing problems and intellectual disabilities.
Teens with mild ID and externalizing problems report calmer moods and simpler coping skills than their average-IQ peers, so tailor plans to action-based strategies first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team compared teens with mild or borderline intellectual disability to teens with average IQ. All teens had externalizing problems like aggression or rule-breaking.
They asked each teen to fill out three short surveys about anger and emotion control. The surveys took about 15 minutes total.
What they found
The MID-BIF group said they had fewer emotion-control problems and less daily anger than the average-IQ group.
Both groups had the same ups and downs in mood across the week. The lower-IQ teens leaned on simple actions, not thoughts, to stay calm.
How this fits with other research
Brereton et al. (2006) found autistic youth show more emotional problems than youth with ID alone. The new data look opposite at first glance, but the key is diagnosis mix. The 2021 study kept autism out of the MID-BIF group, so the samples differ.
Wagemaker et al. (2022) showed the same MID-BIF teens copy prosocial peers quickly. Together the papers paint a picture: these teens act calmer and copy others, but their skills are brittle if autism is added.
Nuebling et al. (2024) meta-analysis says every autistic client needs emotion-regulation screening. Our target paper agrees and adds a twist: check IQ level too, because MID-BIF without ASD may look milder.
Why it matters
Do not assume lower IQ means worse anger control. When you write a behavior plan, start with simple behavioral coping tools first. Add cognitive strategies only if the teen shows they can use them. Always screen for autism separately; it changes the profile and the supports you will need.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cognitive behavior therapy targeting emotion regulation is found to be effective in decreasing externalizing problems, but little is known about the emotion regulation capacities of adolescents with externalizing problems and Mild Intellectual Disabilities or Borderline Intellectual Functioning (MID-BIF). Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare emotion (i.e., anger) regulation capacities, angry mood level and angry mood variability between two groups: adolescents with externalizing problems and MID-BIF and adolescents with externalizing problems and average intelligence (AIQ). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants in the MID-BIF (n = 42, Mage = 15.52, SD = 1.43) and AIQ (n = 39, Mage = 13.67, SD = 1.06) group completed questionnaires about emotion regulation difficulties, emotion regulation strategies, and angry mood. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Adolescents in the MID-BIF group reported fewer emotion regulation difficulties, fewer maladaptive regulation strategies, and lower levels of angry mood than adolescents in the AIQ group. No between-group differences in angry mood variability were found. Lastly, adolescents in the MID-BIF group reported to use more behavioral than cognitive regulation strategies. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings provide a starting point in understanding emotion regulation and angry mood of adolescents with externalizing problems and MID-BIF and show that it is important to consider differences between cognitive and behavioral regulation processes.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103833