Relationship between Minor Physical Anomalies and “Soft Signs” of Brain Damage

Abstract

Several investigations have drawn attention to the possible etiological significance for children's behavior disorders of such organismic characteristics as soft neurological signs of brain damage and minor physical anomalies ( 1 , 3, 4 ) . Although both soft neurological signs and minor physical anomalies have been related to the same disorders, only one study ( 5 ) has attempted to determine whether these variables are correlated. Although soft signs and anomalies are both assumed to reflect a common underlying factor, such as congenital abnormality, no relationship was obtained between these variables. However, the absence of a correlation between presence of anomalies and soft signs may have been a function of the item content of the soft-sign examination used by Quinn and Rapoport. Half of their examination was composed of gross motor coordination items, e.g., balance on one foot; heel to toe walk. Such items may reflect a slowed developmental rate rather than neurological abnormality. The present study attempted to clarify the relationship between minor physical anomalies, soft signs, and gross motor coordination by separating items for gross motor coordination from those for soft neurological signs. The subjects were 76 boys from a residential treatment center. Their ages ranged from 8-3 to 12-9 yr. ( M = 10-6 yr.) and their IQs on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children ranged from 76 to 118 ( M = 9 0 ) . None of the boys were psychotic or obviously brain damaged. All were from lower-socioeconomic-class families. The majority were black, but many were Puerto Rican or of mixed parentage. All of the boys were administered an abbreviated examination of soft neurological signs ( 4 ) , an examination for minor physical anomalies ( G ) , and the gross motor subtest from the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities ( 2 ) . Product-moment correlations were computed among all the variables. A significant value obtained between soft signs and anomalies ( 7 7 , = .28, p < . 01 ) . This correlation confirms the expectation that these variables should be linked due to a common underlying factor such as congenital abnormality. Significantly correlated also were soft signs and motor coordination ( f a = -.43, p < . 01 ) , which may reflect the element of motor execution common to both sets of items.