Behavior problems of children with Down syndrome and life events.

Behavior problems of 44 children with Down syndrome between the ages of 6 and 15 and 44 controls without mental retardation matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status were compared on the basis of mother and teacher ratings. Ratings from both sources indicated that children with Down syndrome had more behavior problems, in particular attention deficit, noncompliance, thought disorder, and social withdrawal. Life events from the past year were significantly associated with mother but not teacher ratings of Down syndrome behavior problems.