Citation

Moss J, Oliver C, Hall S, Arron K, Sloneem J, Petty J. J. Intellect. Disabil. Res. 2005; 49(Pt 4): 269-277.

Affiliation

School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00649.x

PMID

15816814

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There has been limited empirical research into the environmental causes of self-injury in Cornelia de Lange syndrome. The present study examined the variability of self-injurious behaviour in Cornelia de Lange syndrome across environmental setting events. Additionally, the association between setting events and more specific environmental events was examined. METHOD: A descriptive analysis of observational data on eight children with Cornelia de Lange syndrome aged between 4 and 14 years was carried out. The association between self-injurious behaviour and four environmental setting events and between specific environmental events and setting events was examined using established statistical methods for observational data. RESULTS: Seven out of eight of the participants showed at least one form of self-injurious behaviour that was associated with a particular setting event. The study also demonstrated that the relationship between setting events and environmental events is extremely variable across individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Self-injurious behaviour in some individuals with Cornelia de Lange syndrome is associated with environmental events although the precise nature of the association warrants clarification. Using broad setting events as a methodological tool in isolation provides some insight into the role of specific environmental factors in maintaining self-injurious behaviour but the integrity of setting events must be established.

Language: en