Minor Physical Anomalies and Behavior in Preschool Children

In 2 samples of 2,1-year-old children, the presence of multiple minor physical anomalies was found to be positively associated with hyperkinetic, aggressive, impatient, and intractable behavior. Out of approximately 100 reliable behavioral variables, 18 in 1 sample and 16 in the other correlated significantly with weighted scores for minor physical anomalies. 9 of these were the same for both samples. A factor analysis of 16 of the 18 variables which were significantly correlated with anomalies in the male subjects revealed a strong first factor that was similar to the first factor in a similar analysis of 12 of the 16 variables which were significantly related in the female subjects. 7 identical measures had significant loadings for the 2 first factors. These were: inability to delay gratification, nomadic play, spilling and throwing, frenetic play, perseveration, opposes peer, and intractability.