The role of impulsivity in self-injurious behaviour

Georgie Agar (Contributor), Chloe Brown (Contributor), Andrew Bagshaw (Contributor), Rory T. Devine (Contributor), Frank Symons (Contributor), Caroline Richards (Contributor)

Research output: Other contribution

Abstract

Self-injurious behaviour, such as biting, scratching and head banging, occurs at very high rates in children with autism and intellectual disability (ID). As many as 1 in 2 children with autism and ID will self-injure, and in most cases these behaviours persist beyond childhood. Unfortunately, self-injurious behaviour is a primary cause of family stress, and often leads to placement breakdown resulting in children requiring specialist residential placements away from the family home. The Sleep-Impulsivity-Behaviour (SIB) Study investigates two potential causes or drivers of self-injurious behaviour. First, we examine a fundamental brain-based capacity. Our work suggests that children who self-injure have problems stopping and starting their own behaviour; this brain-based capacity is called inhibition. Second, we investigate whether poor sleep makes self-injurious behaviour more likely. We are particularly interested in whether specific sleep difficulties, for example problems with falling asleep, problems with staying asleep, or problems with sleeping at the wrong time in a 24-hour cycle, lead to more frequent and more severe self-injury. To complete the SIB Study, we will bring together these two strands of work. In children without autism and ID, sleep is also known to influence inhibition. Therefore, we think that inhibition may explain part of the relationship between poor sleep and self-injurious behaviour. We will test this idea by running a plan to improve children’s sleep. We will measure inhibition and self-injurious behaviour to see if improvements in inhibition explain some of the changes in self-injury. Together, all three of these pieces of work will show whether poor inhibition and poor sleep cause self-injurious behaviour in children with autism and ID. Positive findings will inform interventions for self-injurious behaviour, with sleep and inhibition as new, preventative intervention targets.
Original languageEnglish
TypeOSF record of project preregistration
Media of outputText - Online
PublisherCenter for Open Science
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Feb 2020

Keywords

  • Autism
  • Behaviour
  • Executive Function
  • Impulsivity
  • Inhibition
  • Intellectual Disability
  • Self-harm
  • Self-Injurious Behaviour
  • Self-Injury
  • Sleep

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