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Rituals and compulsivity in Prader-Willi syndrome: profile and stability

M Wigren1, S Hansen

  • 1Department of Psychology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden. margareta.wigren@psy.gu.se

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR
|August 16, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Compulsive behaviors common in childhood persist into adolescence for individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). These PWS compulsions, particularly insistence on sameness, do not decrease with age.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is associated with a higher incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
  • Understanding compulsive-like behaviors in PWS is crucial for effective management and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the characteristics and prevalence of compulsive-like behaviors in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome.
  • To examine how these behaviors change or persist from childhood into adolescence within the PWS population.

Main Methods:

  • The study utilized the Childhood Routines Inventory, completed by parents.
  • Participants included 50 individuals with PWS (aged 5-18) and 50 typically developing children (aged 4).

Main Results:

  • Childhood compulsive behaviors remain prevalent in older children and adolescents with PWS.
  • The PWS group showed significantly higher levels of compulsive behaviors related to insistence on sameness, irrespective of age, gender, or cognitive status.
  • A distinct, age-independent pattern of PWS compulsivity was identified, potentially linked to other PWS symptoms.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood compulsions do not naturally diminish with age in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome.
  • Distinguishing between normative childhood rituals and pathological compulsive features in PWS is challenging.
Abstract

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