Perception of stress has recently been shown to have a detrimental impact on the psychological health of adults with mild intellectual disabilities (ID)(15, 18,19, 24). Adults with mild ID perceive stressful social interactions as occurring more frequently and as having a greater stress impact than other types of negative events (6,18). Insight into the category of others involved in stressful social interactions has implications for understanding situations in which adults with mild ID are vulnerable to perceptions of stress (e.g., family visits). Little is known about the interpersonal skills that adults with mild ID perceive as difficult (e.g. difficulty asserting opinions), or the actual interpersonal skill deficits of adults with mild ID, and how these interpersonal difficulties contribute to stressful social interactions. It is impossible to eliminate all stressful social interactions and thus an investigation of the coping strategies used to deal with stressful social interactions and the emotions surrounding these interactions is also warranted. Stressful events and negative social interactions play a key role in understanding and treating depression among the general population. Stressful social interactions, the causal attributions for these events, and the coping strategies used to deal with these events may also be a salient feature of depression in adults with mild ID.
In Aim 1, the frequency and stress impact of stressful social interactions of 100 adults with mild ID will be assessed through interviews and standardized questionnaires. The category of others with whom these interactions occur and the interpersonal skill difficulties of adults with mild ID related to these interactions will be identified. The coping strategies utilized for dealing with stressful negative social interactions will also be determined.
In Aim 2, stressful social interactions, causal attributions, and coping strategies of 50 adults with mild ID who have a depressive diagnosis and a matched control group of 50 adults with mild ID without a depressive diagnosis will be evaluated. The relevance of this research to public health is: 1) to increase understanding of stressful social interactions among adults with mild ID; 2) to develop coping training programs to increase the use of adaptive coping to deal with stressful social interactions and the emotions surrounding these interactions when they do occur; 3) to identify interpersonal and cognitive aspects of depression among adults with mild ID that could inform the development of appropriate interventions. ? ? ?
| Mileviciute, I; Hartley, S L (2015) Self-reported versus informant-reported depressive symptoms in adults with mild intellectual disability. J Intellect Disabil Res 59:158-69 |
| Hartley, Sigan L; Maclean, William E (2009) Depression in adults with mild intellectual disability: role of stress, attributions, and coping. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil 114:147-60 |
| Hartley, Sigan L; Maclean, William E (2009) Stressful social interactions experienced by adults with mild intellectual disability. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil 114:71-84 |
| Hartley, Sigan L; Maclean, William E (2008) Coping Strategies of Adults with Mild Intellectual Disability for Stressful Social Interactions. J Ment Health Res Intellect Disabil 1:109-127 |
| Hartley, S L; Lickel, A Hayes; MacLean Jr, W E (2008) Reassurance seeking and depression in adults with mild intellectual disability. J Intellect Disabil Res 52:917-29 |
