Stressful social interactions experienced by adults with mild intellectual disability

Adults with intellectual disability are vulnerable to stressful social interactions. We determined frequency and severity of various stressful social interactions, identified the social partners in these interactions, and examined the specific interpersonal skill difficulties of 114 adults with mild intellectual disability. Participants' characteristic risk factors for stressful social interactions were also identified. Minor and unintentional negative actions of others had high frequency but low severity of stress. Serious and intentional negative actions of others had a low frequency but high severity of stress. Stressful social interactions with other people who have intellectual disability occurred frequently and had a high severity. Difficulty controlling aggression predicted stressful social interactions. Findings are beneficial to developers of interventions to decrease stressful social interactions.