People in the wrong can cause distress (7)
I believe the answer is:
torment
'distress' is the definition.
(torment is a kind of distress)
'people in the wrong' is the wordplay.
'people' becomes 'men' (man is a kind of person).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'the wrong' becomes 'tort' (legal term).
'men' put inside 'tort' is 'TORMENT'.
'can cause' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for torment that I've seen before include "Badger" , "Agony of mind" , "Harry" , "Extreme mental or physical distress" , "Great agony" .)