Positive outcomes for children with developmental disabilities (DD) can be affected by children's behavior problems. This study examined the family environment of 125 children with DD at age 3, and the extent to which that environment, as well as children's cognitive and adaptive functioning, predicted the problematic behaviors that children with DD exhibited at age 5. The family environment included marital status, poverty status, stressful life events, and family climate, consisting of the extent of cohesiveness, expressiveness, and conflict in the family. Analyses indicated that children's behavior problems at 5 were predicted by the numbers of stressful events experienced by their families when the children were 3 years old. Consistent with developmental systems models, family climate added significant unique variance in predicting both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. The findings support the need for practices in early intervention programs that promote the positive climate of families of children with DD. (Contains 4 tables.)