OBJECTIVE: To identify the main characteristics of the behavioral phenotype of children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. METHODS: Eleven children and adolescents with clinical and cytogenetic-molecular diagnosis of Prader-Willi syndrome were studied. Data collection was obtained by the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18). Bivariate correlations were used to test the association between the analyzed variables, being significant p<0.05. RESULTS: The behavioral profile obtained was considered as clinical in different scales of the CBCL/6-18 tool. A behavioral pattern with high frequency of aggression, rule breaking and opposition was observed. Statistically significant correlations between attention and social problems and between thought problems and breaking rules were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The studied patients represent a group of psychiatric risk, with behavioral changes that, in the long-term, can lead to mood disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant behavior, among other disorders
Prader-Willi syndrome; behavior; mental health
