Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan;116(1):16-35.
doi: 10.1352/1944-7558-116.1.16.

Exploring the adult life of men and women with fragile X syndrome: results from a national survey

Sigan L Hartley  1 , Marsha Mailick Seltzer, Melissa Raspa, Murrey Olmstead, Ellen Bishop, Donald B Bailey
Affiliations

Exploring the adult life of men and women with fragile X syndrome: results from a national survey

Sigan L Hartley et al. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Using data from a national family survey, the authors describe the adult lives (i.e., residence, employment, level of assistance needed with everyday life, friendships, and leisure activities) of 328 adults with the full mutation of the FMR1 gene and identify characteristics related to independence in these domains. Level of functional skills was the strongest predictor of independence in adult life for men, whereas ability to interact appropriately was the strongest predictor for women. Co-occurring mental health conditions influenced independence in adult life for men and women, in particular, autism spectrum disorders for men and affect problems for women. Services for adults with fragile X syndrome should not only target functional skills but interpersonal skills and co-occurring mental health conditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of men and women with fragile X syndrome employed in various types of jobs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of men and women with fragile X syndrome participating in types of leisure activities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abbeduto L, Brady N, Kover ST. Language development and fragile X syndrome: Profiles, syndrome-specificity, and within-syndrome differences. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews. 2007;13:36–46. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aziz M, Stathopulu E, Callias M, Taylor C, Oostra B, Willemsen R, et al. Clinical features of boys with fragile X permutations and intermediate alleles. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics. 2003;121B:119–127. - PubMed
    1. Bailey DB, Hatton DDD, Tassone F, Skinner M, Taylor AK. Variability in FMRP and early development in males with fragile X syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation. 2001;106:16–27. - PubMed
    1. Bailey DB, Mesibov GB, Hatton GD, Clark RD, Roberts JE, Mayhew L. Autistic behavior in young boys with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 1998;28:499–508. - PubMed
    1. Bailey DB, Raspa M, Bishop E, Holiday DB. No change in age of diagnosis for fragile X syndrome: Findings from a national parent survey. Pediatrics. 2009;124:527–533. - PubMed

Publication types