Virtual Reality to Assess How Boys with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disabilities Behave in Social Situations

Aggressive behavior problems are the most prevalent mental health problems
among youth, especially for youth with mild intellectual disabilities and
borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). Aggressive behavior problems
have negative consequences for both the child and its environment and result in
an economic burden for society at large. Additionally, aggressive behavior
problems of youth with MID-BIF tend to persist over time, more so than those in
peers with average intelligence. Since social information processing (SIP) is
an important mechanism underlying aggressive behaviour, assessment of SIP using
actual engaging social situations as they occur in Virtual Reality (VR) will
shed new light on individual differences in aggressive behavior among youth
with MID-BIF. VR will be implemented because it might provide a more valid
reflection of SIP that precede real-time behavior in emotionally engaging
situations compared to the hypothetical situations using traditional vignettes.
Considering that this new method to assess SIP has not been examined yet among
youth with MID-BIF, clear implications for developmental theories and future
studies will be obtained.

The first aim is to investigate whether SIP indicators measured with VR are
better predictors of aggression in real-life than SIP indicators measured with
hypothetical vignettes in youth with MID-BIF. The second aim is to explore
whether we can validly measure physiological indicators of arousal in the VR
environment. If so, we will compare the levels of arousal in VR compared to the
vignette assessment. Additionally, we will examine physiological patterns of
over- and under-arousal in the reactive and proactive social situations in VR.

We will use an experimental design in which we use SIP methodology as
within-subjects factor (VR versus vignette assessment). The assessment of SIP
via VR and vignette assessment will be counterbalanced to prevent sequence
effects.

The burdening of the participants is kept to a minimum. Participants will spend
2 times approximately 45 minutes with a week in between. From our previous
studies, we know that children like to participate in both the assessment in VR
as the assessment in which we use vignettes. Although Virtual Reality
environments might generate frustration, mild aggression, and *cybersickness*,
no risk of harm or adverse consequence of participation is expected. The social
situations children encounter in VR are similar to the situations they
encounter in daily life. The possible contribution of the research to both
theory formation and practical usability is substantial and will provide
insights into the application of VR environments to assess SIP in youth with
MID-BIF. This way, we might assess social information processing validly to
better understand the individual differences in SIP underlying aggressive
behavior problems. Aggressive behavior problems of youth with MID-BIF tend to
persist over time, more so than those in peers with average intelligence.
Additionally, many treatments of aggressive behavior problems in youth with
MID-BIF focus on improving social information processing. Therefore, it is
particularly important to understand the mechanisms underlying aggressive
behavior and improve assessments of SIP for these youth. Furthermore, VR may
potentially also be used to improve treatment for youth with MID-BIF and
aggressive behavior problems by addressing the deviancies in SIP in VR.