Outcomes of anti-bullying intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities.
Six CBT group lessons cut bullying victim reports among adults with ID, but adding community talks gives no extra benefit.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Linda et al. (2010) ran a six-session group class for adults with intellectual disability. The class taught CBT-style skills to handle bullying.
Two groups got the lessons. One group also had bosses and co-workers join a short talk. Staff kept notes on bullying before and after.
What they found
Adults said they were picked on less after the class. The drop was big enough that one extra person felt safe for every six who took part.
Reports of picking on others did not change. Adding the community talk gave no extra help.
How this fits with other research
Pahnke et al. (2014) and Van Hanegem et al. (2014) show the same six-session CBT group cuts stress in autistic teens and college students. The plan works across ages and labels.
de Jonge et al. (2025) tracked teens with ID and found that sad, worried moods at 13 predict more bullying at 15. Linda’s class fits here: it lowers the bullying, but only for victims, not for mood.
Reyer et al. (2006) tried a carer-led group for grief and saw no gain. Linda’s study also found that adding staff or carers added nothing. Adults with ID seem to learn best when the lesson is just for them.
Why it matters
You can run a short, staff-led CBT group in a work center and help adults feel safer. Do not spend extra time bringing in bosses or families. Track self-reports before and after to show the change.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although existing research is scarce, evidence suggests that children and adults with intellectual disabilities may be at increased risk of being bullied (as they are for maltreatment generally) and possibly more likely than those without disabilities to also engage in bullying behavior. Despite significant clinical interest in bullying, we could find no published research on the outcomes of bullying intervention for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Adults with intellectual disabilities in three work center settings participated in one of two interventions for perpetrators and/or victims of bullying: (a) psychoeducational intervention with a cognitive behavioral orientation (n=20), or (b) the same intervention but with additional involvement of community stakeholders such as parents, the police, and local schools (n=22). A third work center (n=18) acted as a waiting list control comparison. Pre-intervention, 43% of participants reported that they had been bullied within the preceding three months and 28% identified themselves as having bullied others. Reports of being bullied decreased significantly within the two intervention groups over time but not in the control group. There were no differences between the two intervention groups, and no statistically significant reduction in self-reported bullying behavior. Initial data on this intervention suggest that its effects might be clinically meaningful with an associated Numbers Needed to Treat for reduction in exposure to bullying of 5.55.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.10.006