Age Differences in Emotion Regulation Among Individuals With Down Syndrome

Although there is clear evidence that individuals with Down syndrome (DS) experience difficulties in identifying and interpreting emotions, there is limited research on emotional regulation in this population. Furthermore, many studies of individuals with DS focus on group comparisons against typically developing children, with few considering the role of development itself. Here, we addressed these gaps in the literature by examining individual differences in emotion regulation among individuals with DS using a multi-measure, multi-informant approach.

Thirty-eight individuals with DS aged 5-47 years and their caregivers completed an emotion recognition task, direct observations of their emotional negativity and self-comforting strategies during a frustrating puzzle and caregiver and participant reports of emotion regulation. Participants' language and executive function skills were also assessed.

Higher age was linked to less negativity and reduced use of comfort strategies during the puzzle task, although the relation of age to negativity was curvilinear, with negative behaviours being more prevalent again in late adulthood. Caregiver and self-reports indicated lower emotional lability among older participants. Language scores were linked to emotion recognition and caregiver-reported emotion regulation. Although correlated themselves, emotion recognition and executive function did not correlate significantly with other emotional regulation measures.

Although further longitudinal research is required, results highlight the importance of a developmental perspective in research on emotion regulation in this population and suggest that interventions to enhance emotion regulation strategies may best be tailored to younger individuals with DS, whereas interventions that target language and executive function may support emotion recognition regardless of age.