Daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress in children with Down's syndrome, their siblings, and non-intellectually disabled and other intellectually disabled peers.
Kids with Down syndrome or other ID show more daytime behavior problems and their moms feel more stress—especially when autism is also in the picture.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 56 moms about daytime behavior problems and stress.
Kids were four groups: Down syndrome, other intellectual disability, their own brothers or sisters, and same-age peers with no disability.
Each mom filled out the ABC checklist and a short stress scale.
What they found
Children with Down syndrome or other ID scored higher on behavior problems than siblings and typical peers.
Mothers of kids with other ID reported the highest stress, even higher than Down-syndrome moms.
Siblings and typical kids showed the fewest problem behaviors and lowest parent stress.
How this fits with other research
Busch et al. (2010) extends these findings by adding an autism group. They showed autism moms felt even more stress than Down or ID-only moms, building a ladder: typical < Down < other ID < autism.
Gaynor et al. (2008) followed moms over time and found acceptance, not child behavior alone, predicts later stress. This explains why some Down-syndrome moms fare better even when behaviors are similar.
Lanfranchi et al. (2012) surveyed five syndromes and found Down-syndrome parents report the lowest stress, matching the 1998 rank order.
Dudley et al. (2019) flipped the lens to adolescent siblings. Brothers and sisters of autism kids felt more stress than those of Down-syndrome kids, echoing the maternal pattern.
Why it matters
When you see a new client with ID, ask about mom’s stress level right away. Use a quick parent-stress screener and offer extra support if the child has diagnoses beyond Down syndrome. Teach acceptance skills or refer to mindfulness groups; they may lower stress even when behaviors stay the same.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present study investigates the occurrence of daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress in a group of children with Down's syndrome (DS) compared with a group of their non-intellectually disabled siblings, a group of non-intellectually disabled children from the general population and a group of children with an intellectual disability other than Down's syndrome. The Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and the Malaise Inventory were completed by the mothers. Associations between daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress were also explored. Overall, the children with DS and the children with other intellectual disabilities showed significantly higher rates of behavioural disturbance on all five of the ABC subscales (Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypies, Hyperactivity and Inappropriate Speech) and on the Total ABC score. However, the children with other intellectual disabilities also showed significantly higher scores than the children with DS on four of the ABC subscales: Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypies and Hyperactivity, as well as the Total ABC score. The siblings and children from the general population showed very similar behaviour scores. A number of significant age and sex differences were found in the occurrence of daytime behaviour problems. Maternal stress was significantly higher in the group with other forms of intellectual disability than the other three groups, and a number of significant associations were found between parental ratings of daytime behaviour problems and maternal stress in all four samples. The implications of the findings are discussed, including the need for early assessment to minimize adverse effects on the child's development and on family life.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1998 · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2788.1998.00123.x