The origin of self-injurious behaviour of children with mental retardation

By means of retrospective interviews with parents of children with a mental handicap who show self-injurious behaviour (SIB) it was examined how their child's SIB originated, which explanations they have to offer and to what extent their children differ from a control group. It was found that 68% of the children who injured themselves had already started this behaviour before their sixth year and that as a rule hardly any clear precursors to this behaviour can be indicated. For the parents the SIB is seen as a way of asking for attention, as a means of expressing dissatisfaction, as an autonomous fact - doing it 'reluctantly' - or as behaviour that serves to drown out other physical discomfort. Children who display SIB distinguish themselves in that initial period especially by their problematic temperamental disposition, by their problematic interaction with others and by their fearful, often gloomy interpretation of their social environment.