Facing stress and conflict: a comparison of the predicted responses and self-concepts of aggressive and non-aggressive people with intellectual disability.
Aggressive adults with ID expect to fight back and feel more rejected, so build self-worth into behavior plans.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked adults with intellectual disability about stress and conflict. Some had a history of aggression. Some did not.
Each person told how they would act in tense stories. They also rated how much stigma they felt.
What they found
Aggressive adults said they would hit, yell, or throw things more often. They also felt more judged and left out.
Non-aggressive adults picked calmer choices and felt less picked on.
How this fits with other research
Hattier et al. (2011) later showed that certain mental-health labels, like bipolar or impulse-control disorder, line up with each type of aggression. The 1998 finding helps explain why: people who feel rejected may fall back on the fight response tied to those labels.
S-Johnson et al. (2009) tracked the same group for two years and found one in four stopped being aggressive. That hopeful note pairs with the 1998 data: if stigma drops, coping skills might grow.
Sappok et al. (2014) point to a different driver—emotional age, not stigma. The two views do not clash. Feeling left out can slow emotional growth, and both paths can end in aggression.
Why it matters
When you see hitting or shouting, ask what message the person keeps hearing about themselves. Adding social stories that build pride and model calm choices may lower the fight reflex better than warnings alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present research consisted of two studies. A total of 44 participants were involved in the first study: 22 individuals with problems of aggression (Ag) and 22 non-aggressive (NAg) individuals. A sentence completion test was used to explore whether there were differences between the two groups' predicted coping responses in stressful situations. While the Ag group provided most aggressive responses, the NAg participants were more assertive. However, gender differences also emerged, with women proving to be less aggressive. A high number of passive answers were given across all the groups, suggesting that background experience could have influenced the participants' sense of efficacy in stressful situations. In the second study, a subsample of the participants were interviewed. The aim was to explore whether particular background experience coloured their perceptions of self and others, in situations of conflict. While nine out of the 10 Ag participants described incidents where they felt treated in a derogatory manner which could be linked to their disability, only two out of the nine NAg participants felt slighted in this fashion. Hence, a vulnerable sense of self could contribute to greater sensitivity in interpersonal situations, increasing the likelihood of an aggressive response. The clinical relevance of this work is discussed, alongside the possibilities for future research in this area.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1998 · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2788.1998.00143.x