Background: The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) is an established, internationally used questionnaire for assessing behavioural and emotional problems among young people with developmental or intellectual disabilities (ID). The present study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of its German teacher version (DBC-T). Method: The…

Background: Standardised normative data for checklists of behavioural and emotional disturbance have a demonstrated usefulness for clinicians, researchers, and service providers. Method: The Developmental Behaviour Checklist for Adults (DBC-A) was the instrument used in a large-scale Australian study (n = 1,538) of emotional and behavioural…

Little is known about the behavioral characteristics of adults with Down syndrome (DS) without dementia. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the psychopathology and social behavior among adults with DS compared to adults with nonspecific intellectual disability (NSID). Thirty-four adults with DS were individually matched with 34…

This general review situates Australian research within a framework that quantifies and describes mental health needs of the population with intellectual disabilities across the life span, surveys service provision, and develops the evidence base to inform clinicians regarding assessment and management of psychopathology and psychiatric disorder…

This study sought to understand the profile of and the factors which impact upon challenging behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and multiple disabilities (MD). Teachers of 322 and 132 children with ASD and MD, respectively, attending special schools in Singapore, completed the Developmental Behavior Checklist, Teacher…

This study describes the profile of and relationships between adaptive skills and the maladaptive behaviors exhibited by adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) attending special schools in Singapore. Parents of 20 adolescents with ASD attending special schools completed the Development Behavior Checklist (DBC; Einfeld & Tonge, 1995;…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by temper tantrums, impulsivity, mood fluctuations, difficulty with change in routine, skinpicking, stubbornness and aggression. Many studies on behavior in PWS are limited by sample size, age range, a lack of genetically confirmed diagnosis of PWS and inconsistent assessment of behavior. The aim of…

According to the major classification systems it is not possible to diagnose a comorbid autistic disorder in persons with Rett syndrome. However, this is a controversial issue, and given the level of functioning of persons with Rett syndrome, the autistic disorder is expected to be present in a comparable proportion as in people with the same…

Individual change and variation in emotional/behavioral disturbance in children and adolescents with intellectual disability has received little empirical investigation. Based on 11 years of longitudinal data from the Australian Child to Adult Development Study, we report associations among individual differences in level, rate of change, and…

In typically developing children, boys are more commonly diagnosed than girls with disruptive behavior disorders, namely, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. For children with intellectual disability (ID), the evidence for this gender effect is less clear. In this report we examine gender…

It is well known that communities face high costs in the care of individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Factors that influence those costs are less well studied. This study examined the relationship between behavioral problems and the costs of caring for children with ID. Parents/family carers of 109 children with ID were surveyed using a…

Background: In Australia, diagnosis and management of depression in adults with intellectual disability (ID) often occurs within the primary care setting. Few tools are available to assist general practitioners (GPs) in the diagnostic process. The study aim was to assess properties of carer and GP checklists developed to address this problem.…

Analysis of parent and teacher Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC) ratings on a combined sample of 1,536 Dutch and Australian children (ages 3-22) with mild to profound intellectual disabilities produced five subscales: Disruptive/Antisocial, Self-Absorbed, Communication Disturbance, Anxiety, and Social Relating. Internal consistency of the…