Insight into the Potential Role of Emotional Development in the Relationship Between Challenging Behaviors and Mental Disorder: A Preliminary Study on Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Introduction Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) often display high rates of challenging behaviors (CB) and mental disorders (MD). Given the role of emotional development (ED) in behavioral regulation, this study aims to examine the associations between ED, MD and CB in individuals with ID.Methods Data from 129 individuals with ID were collected via semi-structured interviews with informants, using the Scale of Emotional Development-Short (SED-S) and the Behavior Problem Inventory (BPI).Results Chi-square test suggested that people with lower ID severity and higher level of ED were more likely to have MD, while individuals with more severe ID exhibited lower levels of ED. Ordinal regressions and likelihood ratio tests showed the contribution of different predictors to each behavioral category of the BPI.Conclusion These findings underline the importance of considering the diagnosis of MD, severity of ID and ED profile of adults with ID when managing CB.