Newborn minor physical anomalies and problem behavior at age three.

ABSTRACT

The authors followed up 136 three-year-olds who had high or low scores for minor physical anomalies of face, head, hands, and feet at birth. Interviews with parents revealed that high-anomaly infants were somewhat more likely to have problem behaviors at age three; this was particularly true for hyperactive-impulsive behavior for boys. Preschool teachers' ratings of hyperactivity, however, did not show a significant relationship to anomaly score. The results suggest some congenital contributors to behavior disorders of childhood, but the relationship between anomalies and problem behavior is weak and limits clinical usefulness of this measure when used alone for identifying a high-risk population.