Emotional competence in children with Down syndrome: negativity and regulation

Although often described as temperamentally "easy" and sociable, children with Down syndrome also exhibit behavior problems. Affective development is important for social and behavioral competence. We examined negative affective expressions and a range of emotion regulation/coping strategies during a frustrating task in a sample of children with Down syndrome, nonspecific mental retardation, and typical development. Results revealed that children with Down syndrome displayed significantly more frustration and more orienting to the experimenter without asking for help. Typical children used more goal-directed strategies, including assistance-seeking and cognitive self-soothing. Findings suggest that children with Down syndrome may use a limited repertoire of strategies for coping with frustration. Suggestions for future intervention studies are provided.