Concordancia entre padres e hijos en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en niños con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad: estudio longitudinal / Parent-child agreement in the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A longitudinal study

Objetivos: Evaluar la concordancia entre padres e hijos sobre los cambios producidos en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) de niños tratados por trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH) durante un corto período de tiempo y comparar las puntuaciones con las normas de referencia de la población general. Métodos: Estudio prospectivo en niños de 6 a 12 años con TDAH. Los padres y sus hijos completaron la versión española del CHIP-CE (Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition ‘Perfil de salud infantil’) al iniciar el tratamiento y a las 8 semanas. Las puntuaciones del CHIP-CE de ambas visitas se compararon mediante el test de la t de Student para datos apareados, el tamaño del efecto (TE), los coeficientes de correlación intraclase (CCI) y los diagramas de dispersión. Las evaluaciones de padres e hijos se compararon con las puntuaciones del CHIP-CE de la muestra de referencia española. Resultados: En el análisis se incluyó a 31 niños y a sus padres. El mayor cambio entre la visita inicial y la visita de seguimiento se produjo en la dimensión de riesgos, tanto en los niños como en los padres (TE=0,24 y 0,49, respectivamente). El CCI presentó un intervalo de entre 0,44 (satisfacción) y 0,01 (riesgos). Las puntuaciones de los niños fueron similares a los valores de referencia poblacional. Todas las dimensiones de la versión de padres del CHIP-CE presentaron puntuaciones medias estandarizadas inferiores a los valores de referencia en la visita inicial y fueron próximas a los valores de referencia tras el tratamiento. Conclusiones: El presente estudio mostró poca concordancia entre padres e hijos y sugiere que se deberían recoger ambas perspectivas en futuros estudios del impacto y del tratamiento del TDAH (AU)

Objectives: To assess parent-child agreement on changes over a short-term period of time in the HRQOL of children treated for ADHD over a short period of time, and to compare child and parent ratings of children with ADHD with general population norms. Methods: Prospective study in children 6-12 years old with ADHD. Children and parents completed the Spanish versions of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition (CHIP-CE) before and after 8 weeks of treatment. CHIP-PE scores at both visits were compared using paired t tests and effect sizes (ES), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), and scatter plots. Child and parent ratings were compared with CHIP-CE scores for a general population sample. Results: Thirty-one children and parents were included in the analysis. The highest change between the first and the follow-up visit was on the Risk Avoidance domain both children and parents (effect size [ES]=0.24 and 0.40, respectively). The ICC ranged from 0.44 (Satisfaction) to 0.01 (Risk avoidance). Child self-ratings were close to general population values. All domains of the parent version presented standardized means below the reference values at the baseline visit and closer to the general population norm after treatment. Conclusions: This study found poor parent-child agreement and suggests that both ratings should be collected in future studies on the impact of ADHD and treatment effectiveness (AU)

[Parent-child agreement in the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a longitudinal study]. / Concordancia entre padres e hijos en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en niños con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad: estudio longitudinal.

OBJECTIVES: To assess parent-child agreement on changes over a short-term period of time in the HRQOL of children treated for ADHD over a short period of time, and to compare child and parent ratings of children with ADHD with general population norms. METHODS: Prospective study in children 6-12 years old with ADHD. Children and parents completed the Spanish versions of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition (CHIP-CE) before and after 8 weeks of treatment. CHIP-PE scores at both visits were compared using paired t tests and effect sizes (ES), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), and scatter plots. Child and parent ratings were compared with CHIP-CE scores for a general population sample. RESULTS: Thirty-one children and parents were included in the analysis. The highest change between the first and the follow-up visit was on the Risk Avoidance domain both children and parents (effect size [ES]=0.24 and 0.40, respectively). The ICC ranged from 0.44 (Satisfaction) to 0.01 (Risk avoidance). Child self-ratings were close to general population values. All domains of the parent version presented standardized means below the reference values at the baseline visit and closer to the general population norm after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This study found poor parent-child agreement and suggests that both ratings should be collected in future studies on the impact of ADHD and treatment effectiveness.

The Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE).

The aim of the study was to obtain a conceptually equivalent Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE), and to test its feasibility, reliability and preliminary construct validity. The methodology used for adaptation was forward-back translation, including two focus groups with adolescents and a panel of experts. Reliability and validity were assessed in healthy convenience samples from school settings (n = 417). Three different illness groups (n = 67) were used to examine differences in health status between healthy, acutely ill, chronically ill and mentally ill adolescents. Preliminary construct validity was examined by comparing mean scores for each of the subdomains to determine if they differed in predicted ways according to age, gender and illness group. The majority of items (154 out of 203) were conceptually equivalent to the original version. Some items (46) had to be modified to increase clarity and/or to adapt them for use in Spain and 3 items were considered not applicable. Single construct subdomains achieved alpha coefficients between 0.65 and 0.92, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) between 0.57 and 0.93. The mentally ill group presented the worst scores in most domains. The Spanish CHIP-AE is acceptable for Spanish adolescents and shows adequate metric characteristics, which are similar to those reported in the US version.

Social class gradients in health during adolescence.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To review existing data on social class gradients in adolescent health and to examine whether such gradients exist in new data concerning US adolescents. DESIGN: Review of relevant publications and unpublished data; regression analyses using adolescent self reported health status data to determine whether there are gradients by social class, using three classes categorised by adolescent reported parental work status and education. PARTICIPANTS: Adolescents of ages 11-17. MAIN RESULTS: Findings from the literature indicate the presence of social class gradients in some but not all aspects of adolescent health. Results from new data showed social class gradients in several domains of health and in profiles of health. The likelihood of being satisfied with one's health, of being more resilient (better family involvement, better problem solving, more physical activity, better home safety), having higher school achievement, and of being in the best health profiles were significantly and progressively greater as social class rose. Moreover, the probability of being in the poorest health profile type group was progressively higher as social class declined. CONCLUSIONS: The review of existing data and the new findings support the existence of social class gradients in satisfaction with one's health, in resilience to health threats, in school achievement, and in being in the best health overall (as manifested by the health profiles composed of four major domains of health). The study had two especially notable findings: (1) the paucity of studies using the same or similar indicators, and (2) the consistent existence of social class gradients in characteristics related to subsequent health, particularly intake of nutritional foods and physical activity. The sparseness of existing data and the different aspects of health investigated in the relatively few studies underscore the need for (1) the development of conceptual models specifically focused on adolescent health and social class; (2) additional inquiry into the measurement of social class and adolescent perceptions of class; (3) inclusion of contextual variables in study design; and (4) longitudinal cohort studies to better understand the specific determinants of health during adolescence.

Children's health care use: a prospective investigation of factors related to care-seeking.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the best predictors of the amount of children's health care use. RESEARCH DESIGN: Child health, psychosocial, and family status variables were collected. Families were then followed prospectively for 2 years to gather health care use data. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine factors related to volume of child health care use. SUBJECTS: 367 mothers and children ages 5 to 11 years continuously enrolled in a staff model HMO. MEASURES: Child health care visits obtained from a computerized database comprised the dependent variable. Independent variables were organized into a 5-component framework including: Demographic Characteristics; Family Characteristics; Child Health and Prior Health Care Use; Child Behavior and Mental Health; and Mothers' Mental Health and Health Care Use. RESULTS: The volume of a child's past health care use was the best predictor of future health care use, with the presence of past acute recurring illnesses, child pain and mother's retrospective health care use also serving as significant predictors in the model. Analysis of a second model was conducted omitting children's past use of health care. In this model the mother's worry about child health was the best predictor of use, with child health and child and maternal psychosocial variables significantly contributing to explained variance in the model. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports prior research indicating past use is the best predictor of future health care use. In addition, the study suggests that maternal perceptions of child health and maternal emotional functioning influence the decision-making process involved in seeking health care on behalf of children. Effective management of pediatric health care use needs to address broader needs of the child and family beyond solely the child's health, most notably maternal functioning.

The health profile of incarcerated male youths.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the health needs of adolescent males incarcerated in a juvenile justice facility and to compare their health profiles with those of male adolescents in the community. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted of incarcerated (N = 202) and school (N = 379) samples of male youths. Questionnaires were self-administered and completed before admission health screens (incarcerated youth) or in classrooms (school sample). Health status was assessed by the Child Health and Illness Profile, Adolescent Edition, using scale and item means and by categorizing each youth's pattern of health into 1 of 13 mutually exclusive health profile types. RESULTS: Compared with school counterparts, incarcerated male youths had significantly worse health status as demonstrated by poorer health and functioning scores in perceived well being, self-esteem, physical discomfort, acute, chronic, and psychosocial disorders, family involvement, physical activity, interpersonal problem-solving, risk behaviors, and academic performance. Three profile types-High Risks, High Risks/Low Resilience, and Worst Health-accounted for patterns of health for 69.8% of incarcerated youth versus 37.3% of an age-matched school sample. Just 6.4% of incarcerated males were in the Excellent/Good Health profile types, which contrasted with 34.2% of the age-matched school sample. CONCLUSIONS: The health profiles of incarcerated male youths were worse than those of male youths in school. Our results indicate that rehabilitation programs will need to address incarcerated youth's basic health needs as well as modifying their risk and antisocial behaviors.

Predictors of unintentional injuries to school-age children seen in pediatric primary care.

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of unintentional injury to school-age children seen in pediatric primary care. METHODS: Members of a managed health care system (295 children ages 5-11 years and their mothers) participated. We used Time 1 measures of child, maternal, and family functioning and health care utilization to predict rates of unintentional child injury for the following year. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify variables contributing to prospective injury rates. RESULTS: The final regression model included eight Time 1 variables and accounted for 21% of the variance in Time 2 injury rates. Significant predictors of increased injury liability were younger child age, more children at home, child behavior problems, child social competence, three indices of reduced child health, and maternal anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the utility of these predictors for pediatric psychologists in targeting primary care preventive interventions to families at risk for unintentional child injury.

Relationship between maternal church attendance and adolescent mental health and social functioning.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared maternal attendance at religious services with standard demographic characteristics such as race, type of religion, and mother's education in terms of their relative association with the behavioral and social functioning of young adolescents. METHODS: The Child Health and Illness Profile--Adolescent Edition and the Children's Depression Inventory were used to screen 445 youths age 11 through 13 who were randomly selected from two public middle schools in Baltimore. Based on the findings, the investigators selected a sample of 143 youths in which approximately two-thirds were at risk of having a psychiatric disorder and the remaining third were unlikely to have a psychiatric disorder. The youths and their mothers were interviewed at home to determine the mothers' frequency of participation in religious services and the youths' self-reported health and mental health status and social role functioning. RESULTS: Youths whose mothers attended religious services at least once a week had greater overall satisfaction with their lives, more involvement with their families, and better skills in solving health-related problems and felt greater support from friends compared with youths whose mothers had lower levels of participation in religious services. Maternal attendance at religious services had a strong association with the youths' outcome in overall satisfaction with health and perceived social support from friends, although family income was the strongest predictor of five other aspects of functioning, including academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent maternal participation in religious services was associated with healthy functioning and well-being in this sample of young adolescents. This association is as important as or more important than associations involving other traditional demographic variables, with the exception of family income.

A taxonomy of adolescent health: development of the adolescent health profile-types.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a taxonomy of health profile-types that describe adolescents' patterns of health as self-reported on a health status questionnaire. The intent was to be able to assign individuals to mutually exclusive and exhaustive groups that characterize the important aspects of their health and need for health services. METHODS: Cluster analytic empirical methods and clinically based conceptual methods were used to identify patterns of health in samples of adolescents from schools and from clinics that serve adolescents with chronic conditions and acute illnesses. Individuals with similar patterns of scores across multiple domains were assigned to the same profile-type. Results from the empirical and conceptually based methods were integrated to produce a practical system for assigning youths to profile-types. RESULTS: Four domains of health (Satisfaction, Discomfort, Risks and Resilience) were used to group individuals into 13 distinct profile-types. The profile-types were characterized primarily by the number of domains in which health is poor, identifying the unique combinations of problems that characterize different subgroups of adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: This method of reporting the information available on health status surveys is potentially a more informative way of identifying and classifying the health needs of subgroups in the population than is available from global scores or multiple scale scores. The reliability and validity of this taxonomy of health profile-types for the purposes of planning and evaluating health services must be demonstrated. That is the purpose of the accompanying study.

Reliability and validity of the adolescent health profile-types.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the preliminary reliability and validity of a set 13 profiles of adolescent health that describe distinct patterns of health and health service requirements on four domains of health. METHODS: Reliability and validity were tested in four ethnically diverse population samples of urban and rural youths aged 11 to 17-years-old in public schools (N = 4,066). The reliability of the classification procedure and construct validity were examined in terms of the predicted and actual distributions of age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and family type. School achievement, medical conditions, and the proportion of youths with a psychiatric disorder also were examined as tests of construct validity. RESULTS: The classification method was shown to produce consistent results across the four populations in terms of proportions of youths assigned with specific sociodemographic characteristics. Variations in health described by specific profiles showed expected relations to sociodemographic characteristics, family structure, school achievement, medical disorders, and psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS: This taxonomy of health profile-types appears to effectively describe a set of patterns that characterize adolescent health. The profile-types provide a unique and practical method for identifying subgroups having distinct needs for health services, with potential utility for health policy and planning. Such integrative reporting methods are critical for more effective utilization of health status instruments in health resource planning and policy development.

Social role functioning by adolescents with psychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To identify aspects of social role functioning that are impaired in adolescents with specific psychiatric disorders in order to improve the psychiatric taxonomy and clinical knowledge base. METHOD: Adolescents in four urban public schools were screened for mental health problems. Structured psychiatric interviews (National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 2.2) with 288 adolescents and their mothers were used to identify youths with psychiatric disorders, and 10 aspects of social role functioning were assessed. Aspects of social role functioning that discriminated between youths with and without psychiatric disorders and between those with emotional disorders and those with disruptive disorders were identified for boys and for girls. RESULTS: Boys with any type of disorder and all youths with disruptive disorders had significant, consistent impairment in academic performance and several other areas of functioning. Youths with emotional disorders, especially girls, demonstrated impairment in social activity participation and peer acceptance, but girls with disorders were not as consistently different from those without as were the boys with emotional disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Role functioning differs in important ways between youths with and without psychiatric disorders and between girls and boys with disorders. The results underscore the importance of investigating observable aspects of role behavior in order to improve the timely detection and effective management of psychiatric disorders in youth.

Rural school-based clinics: are adolescents willing to use them and what services do they want?

Using a theoretical model of access, factors associated with rural adolescents' willingness to use primary care services through a school-based health center (SBHC) were examined. Standardized measures of health status and use were administered to 633 adolescents in grades 7-12 who resided in one rural western Maryland county. Although only 6.5% (n = 41) of the sample indicated a willingness to change their regular source of care to an SBHC, greater numbers of adolescents reported a willingness to use SBHC services, with 18%, 38%, 25%, and 16%, indicating interest in routine, acute medical, miscellaneous, and reproductive health care services, respectively. Logistic regression analysis found those adolescents who reported eligibility for free-reduced lunch and no regular source of care for illness were 3.3 and 5.4 times more likely, respectively, to use an SBHC as a primary care site than those unwilling to change their source of care. Data suggest that initially many rural adolescents appear unwilling to change their primary care site to an SBHC, but do express a willingness to use offered services.

PIP: This study examined the factors affecting use of a school-based health center (SBHC) for primary health care (PHC) and reproductive health services (RHS) among a rural population in the US in 1992. Data were obtained from 633 students in grades 7-12 and aged 11-18 years in 1 rural county in Maryland. The health needs survey assessed student willingness to use types of services and 24 specific needs for referral and medical treatment for minor illnesses, routine health maintenance, screening, health education, RHS, mental health, and miscellaneous services. 50% of the sample were aged 11-14 years, and 97% were White. 51% had private insurance. 26% were unsure of medical coverage. 28% reported serious emotional/physical problems. 17% did not have a usual source of PHC. Findings reveal that only 6.5% were willing to switch to an SBHC. 38% were unsure. Switching was significantly associated with receipt of free school lunches and not having a regular provider. Uncertainty about switching was associated with no regular source of care and lack of health insurance. 17.9% reported a willingness to use routine services. 38.1% were willing to use SBHCs for acute medical treatment. 25.3% would use miscellaneous services. 16.3% would use RHS. Teens with mothers without a high school education, teens in poor health, and teens less satisfied with health care were 2.3 times more likely to use RHS. Willingness to switch for PHC was unrelated to willingness to adopt other services. Findings reveal a disparity between support for and actual use of an SBHC.

The impact of asthma on the health status of adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To identify a characteristic pattern of health and illness for adolescents with asthma, we compared the health status of teenagers with asthma to those without asthma using a recently developed generic health status instrument, the Child Health and Illness Profile, Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey using a school sample of 3109 teenagers. Participants completed the CHIP-AE during school in northern Baltimore City, rural western Maryland, and rural Arkansas. The health and functioning scores of teens without asthma ("well" group) were compared with those with asthma with and without recent wheezing. RESULTS: Of the 12% who reported that a physician had ever told them they had asthma, 50% had problems with wheezing in the past 28 days. Compared with well teenagers, those with asthma and recent wheezing had lower perceived well-being, more physical and emotional symptoms, greater limitations in activity, more comorbidities, and more negative behaviors that threaten social development. These findings held true in multivariable regression models that controlled for sociodemographics and sites of data collection. Teenagers with asthma without recent wheezing reported a greater number of comorbidities than well teens and showed similar trends in health status as those with recently symptomatic asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple aspects of adolescent health status are affected by asthma, particularly if it is recently symptomatic. These results argue for incorporating a generic health status instrument, such as the CHIP-AE, in studies that document the health needs or outcomes of medical care for populations of teenagers with asthma.

Health status of well vs ill adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Accountability of health services in meeting needs and assessing outcomes is hampered by the absence of tools to assess health, especially in children and youth. Because it is no longer adequate to assess health by a narrow focus on biological and physiological measures, instruments that assess functional status, person-focused general health status, and overall well-being in a more comprehensive way are needed. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether a health status instrument we have developed discriminates between teenagers in schools and teenagers attending clinics for acute or chronic conditions. METHODS: Teenagers (aged 11-17 years) in schools and in general medical and specialty clinics completed a questionnaire The Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE), comprehensively covering aspects of health in 6 domains: discomfort, satisfaction with health, disorders, achievement of social expectations, risks, and resilience. RESULTS: Acutely ill teenagers reported more physical discomfort, minor illnesses, and lower physical fitness; chronically ill teenagers reported more limitations of activity, long-term medical disorders, dissatisfaction with their health, and less physical fitness than teenagers in the school samples. Age, sex, and social class did not explain the differences. Teenagers within the acutely and chronically ill clinic populations differed substantially in their health status. IMPLICATIONS: Availability of a comprehensive instrument (CHIP-AE) to assess adolescent health provides a means of documenting health needs and outcomes in populations of teenagers with acute or chronic illness. The heterogeneity within these groups provides support for a person-focused (rather than a disease-focused) approach to assessing both needs for care and the influence of care on promoting health.

Behavior and injury in urban and rural adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the consistency of factors associated with adolescent injury in separate urban and rural samples. SAMPLES: Adolescents, 11-17 years old, in public schools in urban and rural Maryland (n = 2,712). METHODS: Separate bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted for each sample to determine individual and environmental factors associated with major and minor injuries experienced in the previous year. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses revealed that, for both samples, the probability of a major injury was highest for boys and, among both boys and girls, for those who played several team sports. Among rural youth, other significant covariates of both major and minor injuries were a tendency to engage in risky behavior and to use alcohol. For urban youth, being white, carrying a weapon for protection, attending an unsafe school, and working for pay were also significant covariates. Interactions were important and complex. CONCLUSIONS: The consistency of predictive factors, such as multiple sports team participation and risky and aggressive behaviors in completely different physical environments, underscores the need to address the contexts of heightened injury risk that some adolescents create wherever they live by playing sports and/or behaving in an antisocial, aggressive manner. Moreover, the perception of lack of safety in schools and neighborhoods is associated with increased injury rates, suggesting the need for policy interventions to target social environments as well as behavior.

Nonurgent use of hospital emergency departments: urgency from the patient's perspective.

BACKGROUND: Patients often seek care from hospital emergency departments (EDs) for conditions medical personnel perceive as nonurgent. The purpose of this study was to examine ED patients' perceptions of urgency, and to determine whether patients with no regular source of medical care are more likely to use the ED for problems they perceive as nonurgent. METHODS: We surveyed 268 patients in an urban ED waiting area who were considered nonurgent by the ED triage nurse. Using structured interviews, we determined patients' perceptions, about the urgency of their medical condition, whether they had a regular source of medical care, and their reasons for choosing the ED for care. After controlling for other variables, we determined whether having non regular source of care was associated with patient-rated nonurgent ED utilization. RESULTS: Eighty-two percent of patients rated their condition as urgent. Patient-rated urgency was not associated with having a regular source of care. The most common reason for seeking care in the ED was expediency. CONCLUSIONS: A large majority of ED patients perceive the problems for which they seek care from an ED as urgent, even when they are assessed as nonurgent by a health professional. Lack of a regular source of care has no significant impact on ED utilization for problems that patients perceive as nonurgent. Simply providing patients with a regular source of care is unlikely to have a significant impact on nonurgent ED utilization without efforts to manage utilization and ensure adequate access to primary care.

The adolescent child health and illness profile. A population-based measure of health.

This study was designed to test the reliability and validity of an instrument to assess adolescent health status. Reliability and validity were examined by administration to adolescents (ages 11-17 years) in eight schools in two urban areas, one area in Appalachia, and one area in the rural South. Integrity of the domains and subdomains and construct validity were tested in all areas. Test/retest stability, criterion validity, and convergent and discriminant validity were tested in the two urban areas. Iterative testing has resulted in the final form of the CHIP-AE (Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition) having 6 domains with 20 subdomains. The domains are Discomfort, Disorders, Satisfaction with Health, Achievement (of age-appropriate social roles), Risks, and Resilience. Tested aspects of reliability and validity have achieved acceptable levels for all retained subdomains. The CHIP-AE in its current form is suitable for assessing the health status of populations and subpopulations of adolescents. Evidence from test-retest stability analyses suggests that the CHIP-AE also can be used to assess changes occurring over time or in response to health services interventions targeted at groups of adolescents.

Determinants of children's health care use: an investigation of psychosocial factors.

Factors related to the amount of health care used by 5- to 11-year-old children in a health maintenance organization (HMO) were investigated using a comprehensive multivariate model that assessed the contribution of child health need, mental health, and social functioning; maternal mental health, social support and health care utilization; and family functioning and life events. Mothers reported on the 450 participating children. Health care visits for a two-year retrospective period were obtained from the computerized encounter system. Child health need and maternal patterns of health care use were powerful predictors of the overall amount of health care used, and these factors discriminated high users from low users of care. Family conflict was associated with a higher volume of care, while children's depressive symptoms and non-white race were related to lower use. Maternal social support, mental health, and life events were not predictive of use in either full multivariate model. Enabling factors were held relatively constant by participation of all families in a prepaid HMO. The multiple regression model explained 33% of the variance in use, slightly more than in previous studies of children's health care use. When included in a comprehensive analysis, child and family psychosocial characteristics help to explain children's health care use beyond what is possible using simple health and illness variables. The implications of these findings in the development of further research and to the practice of routine pediatric care are discussed.

Behavior of injured and uninjured children and their parents in a simulated hazardous setting.

Compared the behavior of parents and their previously injured children with parents and their uninjured children in unstructured play and distracted parent conditions. Injured children were more disruptive, more active, and had more contacts with hazards, whereas uninjured children had more appropriate behavior. Parents of injured children had lower rates of play activities. Observable classes of parent and child behaviors amenable to change were associated with a history of child injury. Further study is needed to assess the use of safe and unsafe behavior as proxy measures for injuries and to identify functional classes of safe and unsafe behavior for which active strategies can be developed to prevent children's injuries.

Psychology in primary health care: effects of brief targeted therapy on children's medical care utilization.

Evaluated the impact of psychological treatment for 93 children (ages 1-15) with common behavior, toilet, school, and psychosomatic problems. Children and parents, who were members of a health maintenance organization, had 1-6 visits to a primary care-based psychological consultation service. Individualized treatment was guided by problem-specific behavioral protocols. Parent outcome and behavior checklist ratings indicated improvement or resolution for 74% of children and high satisfaction with the psychological service. Children's use of medical services, especially acute primary care visits, was reduced during the year after treatment; a matched comparison group's use was unchanged. Addressing children's unmet mental health needs reduces medical care utilization. A primary health care model of psychological services provides an integrated system for serving the health and mental health needs of children.