Investigating the relationship between challenging behavior, co-morbid psychopathology and social skills in adults with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities in Ireland § Deirdre S. Kearney a , Olive Healy b, * a KARE Services, Ireland b School of Psychology, Cairnes Building, University Rd., National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland 1. Introduction Social interpersonal skills are a defining aspect of intellectual disability and are a significant component of an individual’s behavior, affecting numerous areas of functioning (Raymond & Matson, 1989). These skills can enable a person to adapt and respond to intricate environmental cues, and can also assist a person in coping with stressful situations and steer clear of interpersonal conflicts (Matson & Swiezy, 1994). People with an intellectual disability however, generally possess deficits across a broad spectrum of social functioning (Siperstein, 1992). Cartledge, Stupay, and Kaczala (1986) investigated social skills and social perceptions of intellectual disabilities, and found that there were no significant differences between children with intellectual disabilities and neurotypical children with regards to social skills. Kavale and Forness (1996) conducted a meta-analysis examining this area and found that most studies on social skills deficits of children with intellectual disabilities do not provide adequate data to determine the prevalence of social skills deficits within this population. Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 1556–1563 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 25 January 2011 Accepted 25 January 2011 Available online 23 March 2011 Keywords: Intellectual disability Psychopathology Social skills Challenging behavior DASH-II MESSIER ABSTRACT Researchers suggest that social skill deficits and psychiatric issues may be affected by the presence of maladaptive behaviors in people with intellectual disabilities. A sample of 39 participants with intellectual disability was surveyed for the presence of psychiatric symptoms and social skills deficits. Outcomes indicated that individuals with severe challenging behaviors scored significantly higher than those without problem behaviors in terms of presence of psychiatric symptoms in ten of the thirteen subscales of the DASH-II. Results also showed that individuals with severe problem behaviors scored significantly lower on social skills measures, using the MESSIER, than those without. A significant difference was observed between participants presenting with psychiatric symptoms and those who did not in terms of social skills, with the former scoring significantly lower than the latter. Results of the study provide weight to current research supporting the relationships between problem behaviors, co-morbid psychopathology and social skill deficits. This information could be used to further develop positive supports for adults with intellectual disability and challenging behaviors in order to improve their quality of life, community inclusion and social networks. ß 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. § This research was conducted by the first author under the supervision of the second author in partial fulfilment of the requirements for her MA degree in Applied Behavior Analysis at NUI Galway. The authors would like to acknowledge the staff and service users of KARE services Ireland, for their input and participation in this research. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 49 3457; fax: +353 91 521355. E-mail address: olive.healy@nuigalway.ie (O. Healy). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research in Developmental Disabilities 0891-4222/$ – see front matter ß 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.01.053