Incidence of aberrant behaviors in children with pervasive developmental disorders

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the incidence of four aberrant behaviors in patients with pervasive developmental disorders(PDDs). Methods The abnormal behaviors during the last month in 138 PDDs patients were assessed with Aberrant Behavior Checklist and Conners Index of Hyperactivity. Results The incidence of aberrant behaviors was 61.6% for hyperactivity, 81.9% for stereotyped behaviors, 13.77% for self-injury, and 58.70% for irritability in PDDs patients.The occurance of irritability in autism patients was higher than that of asperger syndrome(AS) patients(χ2=5.623, P=0.018). Conclusion Stereotyped behaviors, hyperactivity and irritability are common in children with PDDs. Autism patients are more likely to exhibit irritability behaviors than AS patients. Key words: Pervasive developmental disorders; Hyperactivity; Stereotyped behaviors; Self-injury; Irritability