Factor structure of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire in children with Williams syndrome.

Leyfer et al. (2012) looked at how the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire works in kids with Williams syndrome. They ran an exploratory factor analysis to find the best-fit temperament model for this group.

Parents filled out the CBQ. The team split the kids into those with and without anxiety or ADHD labels to see if scores differed.

A clean four-factor structure came out: negative affect, extraversion, effort control, and a Williams-specific sociability factor. Kids tagged with anxiety or ADHD scored higher on negative affect and lower on effort control.

Katz et al. (2018) used the same stats trick—exploratory factor analysis—to shorten the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire for autistic kids and also landed on four factors. Both studies show one size does not fit all; you have to re-validate parent forms for each diagnosis.

Leaf et al. (2012) tracked IQ stability in the same Williams group. IQ stayed flat on average, yet the new CBQ factors move up or down with anxiety/ADHD status. Together they tell you: watch temperament, not just IQ, when planning supports.

Tse et al. (2021) built an 11-factor teacher scale for mainstream autistic pupils. More factors let finer targets, but Ovsanna’s four are easier to graph for parents during clinic visits.

If you assess a child with Williams syndrome, pull the CBQ and score the four factors. A spike on negative affect plus low effort control flags anxiety or ADHD risk so you can refer early. Pair these scores with the stable IQ data from Leaf et al. (2012) to write goals that focus on self-regulation, not academic rate. Share the four-factor profile with teachers and parents; it is simple and shows why a kid might look friendly yet fall apart when plans change.