Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Department of Life Science and Public Health, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2024 Nov;68(11):1287-1300. doi: 10.1111/jir.13179. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Individuals with intellectual disability, including people with Down syndrome (DS), often exhibit restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs). However, RRBs have not been deeply characterised in children and adolescents with DS.
The study encompassed a cohort of 151 participants aged 4 to 18 years with DS. RRBs were assessed utilising the Repetitive Behaviour Scale-Revised. Additionally, data pertaining to cognitive and adaptive functioning, linguistic abilities, sleep patterns and emotional/behavioural issues were gathered.
Self-injurious behaviours were reported less frequently whereas parents most commonly endorsed items related to behaviours associated with the need for sameness and ritualistic behaviours. We observed very few gender differences, whereas some age-related differences emerged, with adolescents exhibiting higher scores in items related with higher-level RRBs. The analysis of the association between RRBs and clinical features revealed that RRBs were associated with parent-reported sleep difficulties, as well as with internalising and externalising problems. We also observed a negative correlation with IQ whereas associations with adaptive skills emerged mainly for lower-level RRBs, such as motor stereotypies. Finally, RRBs were negatively associated with linguistic abilities, both expressive and receptive.
RRBs in children and adolescents with DS are of significant clinical interest due to their associations with various clinical dimensions. Therefore, psychological and neuropsychiatric assessment should include an accurate evaluation of RRBs for young people with DS.
包括唐氏综合征（DS）患者在内的智力障碍个体通常表现出受限和重复行为（RRBs）。然而，DS 儿童和青少年的 RRBs 尚未得到深入描述。
该研究纳入了 151 名年龄在 4 至 18 岁的 DS 患者。使用重复行为量表修订版评估 RRBs。此外，还收集了认知和适应功能、语言能力、睡眠模式和情绪/行为问题的数据。
报告的自伤行为较少，而父母最常认可与同一性需求相关的行为和仪式性行为的项目。我们观察到很少有性别差异，而一些与年龄相关的差异出现了，青少年在与高级 RRBs 相关的项目中得分更高。RRBs 与临床特征之间的关联分析表明，RRBs 与父母报告的睡眠困难以及内化和外化问题有关。我们还观察到与智商呈负相关，而与适应技能的关联主要出现在较低水平的 RRBs，如运动刻板行为。最后，RRBs 与语言能力（表达和接受）呈负相关。
DS 儿童和青少年的 RRBs 具有重要的临床意义，因为它们与各种临床维度有关。因此，对 DS 青少年进行心理和神经心理评估时，应包括对 RRBs 的准确评估。
