Increasing Emotion regulation skills with dialectical behavior therapy skills training: A single-case study on an elementary school student with borderline intellectual functioning

DOI

10.2991/iciap-17.2018.17How to use a DOI?

Keywords

borderline intellectual functioning; dialectical behavior therapy; elementary school students; emotion regulation skills

Abstract

Individuals with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) are persons with an IQ between 70 and 85 points and characterized by their wide range of cognitive and social difficulties. During their school-age years, most of them have problems with school adjustment. Their ability to regulate emotion is limited due to poor executive function. This condition affects both their behavior in the classroom and their social relations. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), developed by Linehan in 1993, can effectively increase emotion regulation skills in adolescents and adults with intellectual disability, including BIF. This work was a single-case study to examine the effectivity of DBT skills training, one of four modes in DBT, in increasing emotion regulation skills in elementary school children with BIF. An A-B-A design was used in this study, with all three phases completed in 24 days. The program consisted of two adapted DBT modules: mindfulness and distress tolerance. Parents and teachers were also involved to enhance the treatment effects. Data were analyzed through visual and statistical analyses. Results of the study showed a significant difference in emotion regulation skills before and after the intervention (Z = -2.023, p<0.05, r = -0.64). Through DBT skills training, the subject gained knowledge and skills about emotion regulation. These outcomes were achieved by adapting the module to suit the characteristics of BIF. The findings suggest that adapted DBT is a promising intervention to improve emotion regulation skills in children with BIF.

Copyright

© 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Kara Andrea Handali
AU  - Linda Primana
PY  - 2017/09
DA  - 2017/09
TI  - Increasing Emotion regulation skills with dialectical behavior therapy skills training: A single-case study on an elementary school student with borderline intellectual functioning
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Intervention and Applied Psychology (ICIAP 2017)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 200
EP  - 212
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/iciap-17.2018.17
DO  - 10.2991/iciap-17.2018.17
ID  - Handali2017/09
ER  -