Do social information‐processing models explain aggressive behaviour by children with mild intellectual disabilities in residential care?

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether the social information-processing model (SIP model) applies to aggressive behaviour by children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). The response-decision element of SIP was expected to be unnecessary to explain aggressive behaviour in these children, and SIP was expected to mediate the relation between social schemata and aggressive behaviour. SIP and aggressive behaviour of 130 10- to 14-year-old children with MID in residential care were assessed. The fit of various SIP models was tested with structural equation modelling. The response-decision process was found not to be necessary to explain aggressive behaviour. Social schemata were indirectly related to aggressive behaviour with aggressive response generation as mediating variable. Implications for SIP theory and intervention are discussed.