Experimental functional analysis of aggression in children with Angelman syndrome.
In Angelman syndrome, aggression is rarely about getting attention; it often shows up when social play is already happening, hinting at a social-initiation function.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Strachan et al. (2009) ran an experimental functional analysis on aggression in children with Angelman syndrome.
They tested 12 kids using standard FA conditions: attention, escape, alone, and play.
The goal was to see if the aggression served the usual social functions we expect.
What they found
Only one child showed clear attention-maintained aggression.
Most aggression popped up during the play condition, when social contact was already high.
The authors suggest the behavior works more like a social-initiation cue than a plea for more attention.
How this fits with other research
Borlase et al. (2017) also used FA on aggression, but in kids with ASD. They found multiply controlled patterns, showing the method works across diagnoses.
Dawson et al. (2000) uncovered an escape-from-ritual function for aggression, another rare finding. Together these papers widen the menu of possible functions beyond the big four.
Rotta et al. (2023) reviewed FA with animals and found clear functions in 32 of 33 subjects. The same analytic logic now stretches from dogs to kids with rare genetic syndromes.
Why it matters
If you assess a child with Angelman syndrome, do not assume aggression is attention-maintained.
Try a rich-social play condition first; you may see the behavior surge, pointing to a social-initiation function.
Match treatment to that idiosyncratic outcome, perhaps by teaching an easier way to start interaction.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Kinship theory suggests that genomic imprinting could account for phenotypic behaviors that increase (in the case of Angelman syndrome) or decrease (for Prader-Willi syndrome) the drive to access social resources (adult contact) depending on the imprinting parent-of-origin. Difficult to manage behaviors, such as aggression that is common in Angelman syndrome, could serve the function of increasing social interaction. We hypothesise that the commonly reported aggressive behavior in children with Angelman syndrome will be attention maintained. METHODS: Experimental functional analysis was carried out with twelve children with Angelman syndrome caused by either a deletion (n=10) or uniparental disomy (n=2). The relative increase and decrease of aggressive behaviors was observed in response to experimentally manipulated levels of adult attention and demand. Laughing and smiling, crying and frowning, and physical initiation with an adult were also measured. RESULTS: Aggression was seen in ten of the twelve children. One child evidenced a pattern of aggression across conditions consistent with maintenance by attention, three children showed higher levels of aggression during social interaction and two children showed escape motivated aggression. DISCUSSION: With the exception of one child the results did not confirm the hypothesis. However, the pattern of increased aggression in the high social contact condition combined with evidence of positive affect during this condition suggests aggression may serve to both maintain and initiate social contact and this interpretation is consistent with previous research. The negative results may also have been influenced by the age of the children and the low levels of observed aggression.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2009 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.03.005