Correlates of self-injurious, aggressive and destructive behaviour in children under five who are at risk of developmental delay.
OBJECTIVE
Several behavioural correlates of self-injury, aggression and destructive behaviour have been identified in children and young adults with intellectual disabilities. This cross-sectional study aimed to further explore these correlates in very young children with developmental delay.


METHODS
Parents of 56 children (40 male) under the age of five years (mean age 2 years 10 months) completed a questionnaire about their child's behaviour and the presence of behavioural correlates, including repetitive, over-active or impulsive behaviour and more severe developmental delay.


RESULTS
Parents reported very high prevalence of self-injurious, aggressive and destructive behaviour: 51%, 64% and 51%, respectively. A binary logistic regression revealed that a higher score on a measure of overactive and impulsive behaviour significantly predicted the presence of destructive behaviour. A multiple linear regression revealed that both repetitive behaviour and number of health problems approached significance as independent predictors of severe self-injurious behaviour.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the very small sample, several factors emerged as potential predictors of self-injurious, aggressive and destructive behaviour. These findings support the need for further investigation in a larger sample. Confirmation in this age group could help guide the development of targeted early intervention for these behaviours by identifying behavioural risk markers.
University of Birmingham, UK.
J L
JL
Petty
M
M
Bacarese-Hamilton
L E
LE
Davies
C
C
Oliver
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006948:Hyperkinesis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Aggression; Children; Health; Hyperactivity; Intellectual disability; Repetitive behaviour; Self-injury