Adaptive living skills, sleep problems, and mental health disorders in adults with 22q11.21 deletion syndrome.
Adults with 22q11DS almost always have sleep, mental-health, and daily-living troubles together — screen all three.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Leader et al. (2023) sent an online survey to adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. They asked about daily living skills, sleep trouble, and mental health.
What they found
Most adults reported poor sleep, low adaptive skills, and at least one mental-health diagnosis. The three problems rose together — when one was high, the others were too.
How this fits with other research
Leader et al. (2020) saw the same sleep-behavior link in kids. Parents of youth with 22q11DS said bad sleep went hand-in-hand with self-injury and stereotypy.
Hatzell et al. (2026) found the same pattern in autistic clients. Sleep problems doubled the odds of self-injury and aggression in over 8,000 youth.
McGonigle et al. (2014) warned that adult services for 22q11DS were already thin. The new data show the need is still high — and now we know sleep and life-skills must be screened too.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with developmental delays, add three quick boxes to your intake: sleep habits, adaptive skills, and mood. Fixing sleep may cut problem behavior and boost independence.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: 22q11.21 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome caused by a microdeletion of genes at the 22q11.21 locus. It has a prevalence of 1:2000. This study investigated the prevalence of adaptive living skills, sleep problems, and mental health disorders in adults with 22q11DS and examined the relationship between these factors. METHODS: Parents with an adult son or daughter with 22q11DS completed the following: A bespoke Demographic Information Questionnaire, Sleep Questionnaire (SQ-SP), Psychopathology in Autism Checklist (PAC), and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and one-way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. RESULTS: Mental health difficulties, sleep problems, and low levels of adaptive living skills are prevalent in adults with 22q11DS. Strong positive correlations were identified between sleep problems, depression, and anxiety subscale scores and moderate negative correlations between depression, psychosis, and activities of daily living skills. CONCLUSION: Adults with 22q11DS need screening and treatment for mental health and sleep problems.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104491