Behavioral and emotional problems in children and adults with cerebral palsy

- Emotional and behavioral problems are frequent in patients with cerebral palsy.
- These problems are frequently in childhood as well as in adulthood.
- Attentional, peer and social interaction problems are most frequently reported.
- These problems seem independent from subtype of cerebral palsy.
- Comprehensive care involving psychological problems is demanded for patients with CP.

ObjectiveIn patients with cerebral palsy (CP), psychological problems influence their participation in society. Little is known about the persistence of behavioral and social problems into adulthood.Materials and methodsIn a two-center cross-sectional study, caregivers of 121 adults and 88 children were ask to assess behavior of the patients through the parent/caregiver forms of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale II (VABS). Questionnaires were returned from 43 adults and 39 children.ResultsIn both groups we found the same frequency of abnormalities in attention problems (32.4 vs. 36.1%, p = 0.826) and social interaction problems (32.3 vs. 33.3%; p = 0.926) in the CBCL, and peer problems (38.9 vs. 75.7%; p = 0.115) in the SDQ. Children show a lower percentage of abnormal prosocial behavior (41.7 vs. 16.2%, p = 0.016) and lower abnormal rates of communication (88.2 vs. 61.5; p = 0.01) and daily living skills (90.0 vs. 71.8; p = 0.041), whereas the level of abnormalities in both groups in these dimensions of VABS notably high.ConclusionThe persistence of psychological and social problems from childhood into adulthood underlines the importance of focusing on early intervention.