Temperament in children with Down syndrome and in prematurely born children

Nygaard, Egil; Smith, Lars; Torgersen, Anne Mari

doi:10.1111/1467-9450.00269

Cited by 35 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…In addition, lower Negative Emotionality for infants with DS observed in this study supports the idea that lower levels of reactivity, related to decreased noradrenergic and adrenergic activity, may translate into fewer negative emotional responses for infants with DS. The latter finding also lends support to the results reported by Nygaard et al (2002), indicating that children with DS showed lower levels of sadness. On the other hand, results of this study conflict with findings reported by Bridges and Cicchetti (1982), Ohr andFagen (1993), andRatekin (1996), most likely as a function of different assessment approaches and ages of included children with DS.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…On the other hand, Bridges and Cicchetti (1982) utilized a different parent-report instrument, the Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ; Carey 1970), and relied on the normative sample (3.5-8.5 months of age) utilized in the development of this questionnaire as a comparison group. Research conducted by Ratekin (1996) and Nygaard et al, (2002) was based on samples of school-age children, utilizing different parent-report assessment tools.For the current study, it was hypothesized that previous finding demonstrating significant differences in temperament manifestations (e.g., duration of orientating, smiling/laughter, and vocal reactivity) between children with DS and comparison youngsters would be replicated. Specifically, because of the similarity in the approach to the measurement of temperament and age ranges, we expected to replicate the findings of Rothbart & Hanson (1983), expanding on this earlier investigation by examining additional domains of temperament (e.g., Perceptual Sensitivity, Falling Reactivity, Cuddliness/Affiliativeness).…”

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Infant temperament: an evaluation of children with Down Syndrome

Gartstein

Marmion

Swanson

2006

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology

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The current study investigated differences in the development of temperament for normally developing infants and infants with Down Syndrome (DS). DS has been described as the most prevalent cause for mental retardation, and its effects on the central nervous system may also influence the development of temperament. Parents of 3 to 12 month-old normally developing infants and infants with DS completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R). Results indicated that parents of infants with DS described their children as exhibiting higher levels of temperament dimensions associated with Orienting/Regulating Capacity, and lower levels of attributes collectively referred to as Negative Affectivity, relative to comparison children. Specifically, infants with DS were reported to exhibit lower levels of Distress to Limitations, higher levels of Low Intensity Pleasure, Duration of Orienting, Falling Reactivity, and Cuddliness/ Affiliation. No significant differences were found between IBQ-R factor intercorrelations for children with DS and normatively developing infants. Down Syndrome (DS), a chromosomal disorder (Selikowitz, 1997) caused by an abnormality on chromosome 21 (Harris, 1995). A vast majority (95%) of children with DS have a whole extra chromosome, which is due to non-disjunction (Selikowitz, 1997); however, a number of children with this disorder have an extra part of chromosome 21, due to translocation, and a small subgroup of children with DS have an extra 21 st chromosome in only some of their cells (mosaicism). DS has been associated with a large number of features; however, the only feature that is apparent in all children with the disorder is the presence of some intellectual impairment (Selikowitz, 1997). In addition, there are common physical characteristics, such as: "upturned, outward slanting eyes, epicanthus, wide nasal bridge, brush field spots, large posterior fontanelle, brachycephaly, low nuchal hair line, single transverse palmar crease, large cleft between first and second toe, and relatively short upper arms" (Harris, 1995, p. 274). Hypotonia and short stature have also been reported. It has been shown that the incidence of DS increases with advanced maternal age, with the risk escalating markedly after the age of 35 (Selikowitz, 1997).A number of Central Nervous System (CNS) abnormalities have been described in children with DS. In one study, 17 out of 42 children with DS were reported to have microcephaly (Pastore et al., 2000). Another team of researchers reported that participants with DS had smaller hippocampal volumes than participants from a control group and that the area of the corpus callosum was also reduced in size when compared to the controls, even after matching for age and intracranial volume (Teipel, Shapiro, Alexander, & Krasuski, 2003). Ganiban, Wagner, and Cicchetti (1990) et al., (1990) stated that given possible decreased noradrenergic and adrenergic activity, the intensity of overall reactivity would be expected to be dampened relative to reactivi...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Infant temperament: an evaluation of children with Down Syndrome

Gartstein

Marmion

Swanson

2006

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology

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“…Relative to typically developing controls, children with ASD have been rated as significantly lower on effortful control, with particular difficulties focusing attention, shifting attention, and inhibiting prepotent responses (Janes 2001;Konstantareas and Stewart 2006;Landry 2000). Such problems have been reported in other developmentally-delayed populations (Nygaard et al 2002), raising questions about the role of intellectual impairment, as typically found in ASD (Fombonne 2005). However, effortful control is reportedly more problematic in children with ASD than developmentally-matched children with Down syndrome (Landry 2000), consistent with higher rates of executive dysfunction in ASD than in other forms of developmental psychopathology (Hill 2004).…”

Section: Temperament and Asdmentioning

confidence: 90%

Temperament and its Relationship to Autistic Symptoms in a High-Risk Infant Sib Cohort

Garon

Bryson

Zwaigenbaum

et al. 2008

J Abnorm Child Psychol

195

153

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The present study prospectively investigated early temperamental profiles and their associations with autistic symptoms in high-risk infants (N = 138) with an older sibling with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and low-risk infants (N = 73) with no family history of ASD. Children who were diagnosed with ASD at 36 months were distinguished from non-ASD sibs and controls by a temperament profile marked by lower positive affect, higher negative affect and difficulty controlling attention and behavior, which we labeled Effortful Emotion Regulation. This profile also distinguished the non-ASD sib group from the control group. Children with ASD were distinguished from both of the other two groups by a temperament profile of low Behavioral Approach (lower sensitivity to "social" reward cues). Low levels of Behavioral Approach were associated with a higher number of ASD symptoms, even after taking into account IQ, sex and group membership. Finally, a cluster analysis revealed two ASD subgroups distinguished by number of ASD symptoms, IQ, age of diagnosis and scores on the Behavioral Approach profile. These findings suggest that temperament may be a useful framework for understanding the emergence of ASD early in life.

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“…Even when presented with fearful expressions in caregivers, DS children do not show fear and respond with a generally positive affect (Knieps et al, 1994). DS children show less behavioral inhibition (Nygaard et al, 2002) and more impulsivity and compulsive behaviors (Kopp et al, 1983;Evans and Gray, 2000). These behaviorsFimpulsivity and lack of fearFare one extreme of the harm avoidant dimension of Cloninger's Tridimensional theory of personality (Cloninger, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harm Avoidance, Anxiety, and Response to Novelty in the Adolescent S-100β Transgenic Mouse: Role of Serotonin and Relevance to Down Syndrome

Bell

Shokrian

Potenzieri

et al. 2003

Neuropsychopharmacol

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S-100b is an astroglial-derived protein, which plays a role in brain development and maintenance, and is known to play a specific role in the regulation of growth of the serotonergic neuronal system. In humans, the gene for S-100b is found on chromosome 21, within the region that is considered important for the phenotype of Down syndrome (DS). Thus, we have been studying a model of DS, the S-100b transgenic mouse. In the current study, we have examined anxiety and responses to novelty in adolescent (60-90 days) animals, at a time when we have shown the animals to be relatively lacking in serotonin innervation, compared to their CD-1 nontransgenic controls. In a test for approach/avoidance, the light/dark test, the S-100b transgenic mice animals showed no differences from control CD-1 mice. However, in the hole-board test for exploratory behavior, the S-100b animals were found to be less responsive to the inhibiting effects of the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A agonist, buspirone. Three tests were used to measure response to novelty. In the open field, the S100b animals showed greater activity longer than the control animals, and in the Y-maze test, the S-100b animals spent more time in the novel arm. In a test for novelty-induced gnawing, the S-100b animals were also more active than control animals. All of these suggest that the S-100b transgenic mice are slower to habituate to novelty than control animals. Finally, we tested the animals in a new procedure that we are proposing as a test for harm avoidance. In this apparatus, the S-100b animals showed more approaches to a novel and potentially harmful object than the control mice did. These results are discussed in reference to the known lack of serotonin in the animals, and to the behavioral phenotype of DS.

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Temperament in children with Down syndrome and in prematurely born children

Cited by 35 publications

References 45 publications

Infant temperament: an evaluation of children with Down Syndrome

Infant temperament: an evaluation of children with Down Syndrome

Temperament and its Relationship to Autistic Symptoms in a High-Risk Infant Sib Cohort

Harm Avoidance, Anxiety, and Response to Novelty in the Adolescent S-100β Transgenic Mouse: Role of Serotonin and Relevance to Down Syndrome

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