ABSTRACT
Individuals with intellectual disability (formerly mental retardation in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision [DSM-IV-TR]) can display aggressive behaviors due to a variety of factors, including impaired impulse control, diculty with longterm planning, and trouble handling stressful and emotional situations. Pharmacological treatments have shown some benets in curbing aggressive behaviors in this population. Because much of the published evidence uses the DSM-IV-TR denition of “mental retardation,” the term cognitive impairment will be employed throughout the remainder of this section for the sake of simplicity.
