The Importance of Understanding Individual Differences of Emotion Regulation Abilities in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.
L E Campbell, L Swaab, E E Freeman and 4 others
PMID 34251567WHAT IT FOUND
Half of 129 young people with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome had parent-reported difficulty regulating emotions, compared with 8% of 116 typically developing peers.
The other half fell in the typical range, so assess each person rather than assuming emotion problems.
Key findings
01Emotion regulation difficulties were common but not universal in 22q11DS: 64 of 129 participants had elevated or clinically significant parent-reported problems, compared with 9 of 116 typically developing controls.
02Cluster analysis identified four parent-reported behaviour profiles among participants with 22q11DS: 52 with no internalizing or externalizing problems, 36 with internalizing problems only, 32 with both, and 8 with externalizing problems only.
03More emotion regulation problems were linked to poorer adaptive functioning, and the clusters with externalizing behaviours had considerably lower daily-living skills than the other clusters.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that emotion regulation problems cause externalizing behaviours or lower adaptive functioning. Only parents rated behaviour, and no child self-report, teacher report or experimental measures were used. The cluster analysis was exploratory, so the four profiles should not be treated as established diagnostic types. The study did not collect information on current or prior treatment services or medication, which may have influenced behaviour. Intellectual functioning was measured with different versions of Wechsler tests because the data were archival, and IQ was not included as a covariate. Participants were English speakers recruited from a research centre and clinic, so results may not apply to other languages or settings.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume every young person with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome has emotion regulation difficulties. Only 50% of the 22q11DS group had elevated or clinically significant problems, and the study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that emotion regulation problems cause externalizing behaviours or lower adaptive functioning.