Knowledge about anger in children with a mild intellectual disability

Abstract

The knowledge of children with a mild intellectual disability (ID) is less complex and poorer than that of their peers in the intellectual norm (IN). The aim of this study was to characterize knowledge about anger in children with a mild intellectual disability. The study used the authoring tool to measure children’s knowledge of emotions, including anger. This tool facilitated exploration of the cognitive representation of the basic emotions available in three codes (which perform the functions of perception, expression and understanding) and the interconnections between them. Children in the intellectual norm (N = 30) and children with a mild intellectual disability (N = 30) participated in the study. The results mainly indicated differences in how anger was understood by particular groups, to the detriment of children with a disability. The results were largely determined by the child’s level of organization of knowledge about anger and accompanying mental operations