The Profiles and Correlates of Psychopathology in Adolescents and Adults with Williams, Fragile X and Prader-Willi Syndromes.
R Royston, C Oliver, P Howlin and 4 others
PMID 31802317WHAT IT FOUND
In Williams syndrome, current health problems and auditory sensory difficulties predicted higher emotional disturbance, while in Prader-Willi syndrome poorer adaptive skills predicted more psychopathology.
In Fragile X syndrome, none of these factors predicted mental health difficulties.
Key findings
01For individuals with Williams syndrome, higher auditory sensory difficulties and more current health problems significantly predicted higher levels of emotional and behavioural disturbance.
02For individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, higher adaptive ability predicted lower total psychopathology, lower generalised anxiety, and lower manic/hyperactivity scores.
03For individuals with Fragile X syndrome, no associations were identified between age, adaptive ability, health problems, or auditory sensory processing and psychopathology.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
Psychopathology was assessed via caregiver questionnaires rather than clinical diagnostic interviews. The sample sizes were small and uneven across the three syndrome groups. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot establish causality between predictors and mental health outcomes. Participants were predominantly adults, which may limit generalisability to children. Voluntary recruitment may have introduced selection bias, as response rates were low for some groups.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Williams Syndrome Foundation and Cerebra. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that health or sensory issues cause mental health difficulties in Fragile X or Prader-Willi syndrome based on this study. These associations were specific to Williams syndrome, and no predictors were found for Fragile X syndrome.