M. van Nieuwenhuijzen

Social) Cognitive Skills and Social Information Processing in Children with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to examine the unique contributions of (social) cognitive skills such as inhibition, working memory, perspective taking, facial emotion recognition, and interpretation of situations to the variance in social information processing in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities. Respondents were 79 children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities in the age of 8-12 who were given tasks on social cognitive skills and social information processing. The results from the present study show that emotion recognition, interpretation, working memory and inhibition skills predict social information processing skills. It is concluded that especially emotion recognition and interpretation skills are important cognitive skills that predict social information processing, and therefore should be the focus of treatment.

The relations between intellectual disabilities, social information processing, and behavior problems.

Social information processing (SIP) in children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) has been said to differ from SIP in children without MID. However, findings have been inconsistent and MID have been confounded with behaviour problems. It is not clear whether SIP is uniquely related to intellectual disabilities, to the behaviour problems of children with MID, or to both. In the present study, 56 children with MID and 31 children without MID between the ages of 10 and 14 years therefore completed a number of SIP tasks involving video vignettes and their externalizing behaviour problems were assessed. It was hypothesized that intellectual disabilities would be related to both SIP and behaviour problems. Findings show children with MID to encode more negative cues, generate more responses, and show more variability in their responses than children without MID. Children with MID also generated fewer assertive responses, evaluated assertive responses less positively, were less confident about the enactment of assertive responses, and selected fewer assertive responses than children without MID. Submissive responses were more often generated spontaneously by children with MID, more positively evaluated by them, and given more confidence for enactment by children with MID compared to children without MID. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the relations between SIP, MID, and behaviour problems. Variance in the generation of submissive responses was related to both intellectual disabilities and externalizing behaviour problems. Variance in the encoding of cues, the number of responses generated, the variability of generated responses, the evaluation of assertive and submissive responses, self-efficacy, and the selection of assertive responses was found to be related to intellectual disabilities. Variance in the generation of aggressive responses was related to externalizing behaviour problems. In other words, not responding assertively was related to intellectual disabilities while responding aggressively was related to behaviour problems.

Executive functions and social information processing in adolescents with severe behavior problems

One tradition in research for explaining aggression and antisocial behavior has focused on social information processing (SIP). Aggression and antisocial behavior have also been studied from the perspective of executive functions (EFs), the higher-order cognitive abilities that affect other cognitive processes, such as social cognitive processes. The main goal of the present study is to provide insight into the relation between EFs and SIP in adolescents with severe behavior problems. Because of the hierarchical relation between EFs and SIP, we examined EFs as predictors of SIP. We hypothesized that, first, focused attention predicts encoding and interpretation, second, inhibition predicts interpretation, response generation, evaluation, and selection, and third, working memory predicts response generation and selection. The participants consisted of 94 respondents living in residential facilities aged 12–20 years, all showing behavior problems in the clinical range according to care staff. EFs were assessed using subtests from the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Test battery. Focused attention was measured by the Flanker task, inhibition by the GoNoGo task, and working memory by the Visual Spatial Sequencing task. SIP was measured by video vignettes and a structured interview. The results indicate that positive evaluation of aggressive responses is predicted by impaired inhibition and selection of aggressive responses by a combination of impaired focused attention and inhibition. It is concluded that different components of EFs as higher-order cognitive abilities affect SIP.ABSTRACT One tradition in research for explaining aggression and antisocial behavior has focused on social information processing (SIP). Aggression and antisocial behavior have also been studied from the perspective of executive functions (EFs), the higher-order cognitive abilities that affect other cognitive processes, such as social cognitive processes. The main goal of the present study is to provide insight into the relation between EFs and SIP in adolescents with severe behavior problems. Because of the hierarchical relation between EFs and SIP, we examined EFs as predictors of SIP. We hypothesized that, first, focused attention predicts encoding and interpretation, second, inhibition predicts interpretation, response generation, evaluation, and selection, and third, working memory predicts response generation and selection. The participants consisted of 94 respondents living in residential facilities aged 12–20 years, all showing behavior problems in the clinical range according to care staff. EFs were assessed using subtests from the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Test battery. Focused attention was measured by the Flanker task, inhibition by the GoNoGo task, and working memory by the Visual Spatial Sequencing task. SIP was measured by video vignettes and a structured interview. The results indicate that positive evaluation of aggressive responses is predicted by impaired inhibition and selection of aggressive responses by a combination of impaired focused attention and inhibition. It is concluded that different components of EFs as higher-order cognitive abilities affect SIP.

Executive functions and processing speed in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities and externalizing behavior problems

ABSTRACT Several studies suggest impaired executive functions (EFs) in children with externalizing behavior problems and average intelligence (e.g., IQ > 85). Even though children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID) are at higher risk of developing externalizing behavior problems compared to children with average intelligence, it is not yet clear if impaired EFs are also associated with the occurrence of externalizing behavior problems in children with MBID. In the current study, we therefore assessed three EF components (inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) as well as processing speed in children with MBID and externalizing behavior problems (n = 71) versus children with MBID with no such problems (n = 70). This was accomplished using a well-established computerized test battery. Even after IQ was controlled for, the children with MBID and externalizing behavior problems showed more impaired working memory performance. Differences for inhibition performance and processing speed were also found but less consistent across the tasks used to measure these aspects of EF. Cognitive flexibility was not more impaired in children with both MBID and externalizing behavior problems relative to children with MBID only. Our findings highlight working memory as a potential target to enhance the treatment of children with MBID and externalizing behavior problems.

Perceptions and expectations of regular support meetings between staff and people with an intellectual disability

ABSTRACT Background Client-centred models of care emphasise the importance of collaborative working between staff and clients with an intellectual disability (ID). How people with an ID perceive the nature of their engagement with staff is relatively unknown. This study investigated the perceptions of staff and people with an ID about the goals for their meetings and what aspects of the meetings they viewed as important. Method Interviews were carried out with 9 client–staff dyads. Prior to their meeting, staff and clients were asked about their expectations. Afterwards, both parties were asked about what they believed happened during the interaction. The participants’ answers were subjected to a thematic analysis. Results People with an ID appreciated the opportunity to tell their story and valued reliable, practical support and advice. A trusting relationship was important to both clients and staff. Only staff viewed promoting clients’ autonomy as important. Conclusion Staff and people with an ID appear to differ in their expectations and perceptions regarding regular support meetings.