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Patterns of depressive symptoms and social relating behaviors differ over time from other behavioral domains for young people with Down syndrome
Foley KR, Bourke J, Einfeld SL, Tonge BJ, Jacoby P, Leonard H.. Medicine, 2015-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
People with intellectual disabilities are at a higher risk for experiencing behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric problems in comparison with the general population. People with Down syndrome have been reported as experiencing fewer behavioral problems than others with intellectual disability, although still at a greater level than the non-intellectually disabled population, except for depression and Alzheimer disease. The aim of this study was to describe the trajectories of subscales of behavior, including depressive symptoms, communication disturbance, anxiety, disruptiveness, and social relating abilities, for young adults with Down syndrome.Families of young adults with Down syndrome living in Perth, Western Australia, participated in a questionnaire study over 8 years, 2004 (n = 255), 2009 (n = 191), and 2011 (n = 188). Questionnaires collected information about young person characteristics and family functioning. The parent-completed Developmental Behavior Checklist-Adult (DBC-A) and Developmental Behavior Checklist-Primary Carer Version (DBC-P) were used to measure emotional and behavioral problems. These measures include the following subscales: disruptive, communication and anxiety disturbances, self-absorbed, antisocial, depressive, and social relating.DBC score declined from 2004 to 2011 reflecting an improvement in behavior in the self-absorbed (coeff -0.011, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.031, -0.008), anxiety (coef -0.009 95%CI -0.129, -0.006), communication disturbances (coeff -0.008, 95% CI -0.012, -0.005) and disruptive/antisocial behavior (coeff -0.013, 95% CI -0.016, -0.009) subscales. Subscales for depressive symptoms and social relating problems decreased less (coeff -0.003, 95% CI -0.007, -0.0001) (coeff -0.003 95% CI -0.007, 0.001). Young people who were lower functioning were reported as exhibiting significantly more behavioral problems across every subscale when compared with those who were higher functioning.Behavior of young adults with Down syndrome improves over time but depressive symptoms and social relating behavior problems persist into adulthood. It is possible that those with persistent depressive symptoms are at a high risk for developing depressive illness in adulthood. Identifying young people with Down syndrome who are at risk for developing depression in adult life has implications for prevention and early treatment.
Key findings
- People with intellectual disabilities are at a higher risk for experiencing behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric problems in comparison with the general population.
- Young people who were lower functioning were reported as exhibiting significantly more behavioral problems across every subscale when compared with those who were higher functioning.Behavior of young adults with Down syndrome improves over time but depressive symptoms and social relating behavior problems persist into adulthood.
Why it matters
This questionnaire study described trajectories of behavior in young adults with Down syndrome over eight years, finding that behavior improved over time but depressive symptoms and social relating behavior followed different patterns. It does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants255
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Medicine: journal h-index 285 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 255 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 30 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.3 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Helen Leonard: h-index 76 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Sydney: institution h-index 1,466 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25984682) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Foley, K. R., Bourke, J., Einfeld, S. L., Tonge, B. J., Jacoby, P., & Leonard, H. (2015). Patterns of depressive symptoms and social relating behaviors differ over time from other behavioral domains for young people with Down syndrome. Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000000710
Vancouver
Foley KR, Bourke J, Einfeld SL, Tonge BJ, Jacoby P, Leonard H. Patterns of depressive symptoms and social relating behaviors differ over time from other behavioral domains for young people with Down syndrome. Medicine. 2015. doi:10.1097/md.0000000000000710. PMID: 25984682.
BibTeX
@article{foley2015-25984682,
author = {Foley, K. R. and Bourke, J. and Einfeld, S. L. and Tonge, B. J. and Jacoby, P. and Leonard, H.},
title = {{Patterns of depressive symptoms and social relating behaviors differ over time from other behavioral domains for young people with Down syndrome}},
journal = {Medicine},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1097/md.0000000000000710},
pmid = {25984682},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000000710}
}
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