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A qualitative study of the emotion regulation experiences of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities: “because it helps my brain to calm down”

Mary Girgis*, Josephine Paparo, Ian Kneebone

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background: Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities are prone to developing emotion dysregulation difficulties. The process model of emotion regulation may offer a comprehensive structure by which to understand this phenomenon. Method: Seventeen children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities participated in semi-structured interviews on their experience of emotion regulation. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data obtained. Results: The applicability of the process model of emotion regulation for children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities was confirmed. Additional themes and sub-themes relevant to the model were also identified. Discrepancies in emotion regulation experiences were noted between autistic and non-autistic children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Conclusions: The process model was found to be relevant to children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The identified themes and sub-themes could guide the development of outcome measures founded on the model for this population.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)386-397
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability
Volume50
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2025. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • autism spectrum disorder
  • children and adolescents
  • emotion regulation
  • individual perspectives
  • intellectual disability

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