ABSTRACT
Prior investigations of the relation between stressors and symptoms in children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) have focused on major negative life events. This study used consecutive daily telephone interviews to assess daily stressors and symptoms in 154 pediatric patients with RAP and 109 well children. Results showed that patients with RAP reported more frequent daily stressors than well children reported both at home and at school. Idiographic (within-subject) analyses indicated that the association between daily stressors and somatic symptoms was significantly stronger for patients with RAP than for well children. In contrast, the relation between daily stressors and negative affect did not differ between the groups. The relation between daily stressors and somatic symptoms was stronger for patients with RAP who had higher levels of trait negative affectivity.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Pain/psychology , Emotions , Stress, Psychological/complications , Temperament , Abdominal Pain/etiology , Adolescent , Case-Control Studies , Child , Female , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Humans , Male , Multivariate Analysis , RecurrenceABSTRACT
Mother-child concordance regarding children's somatic and emotional symptoms was assessed in children with recurrent abdominal pain (n = 88), emotional disorders (n = 51), and well children (n = 56). Children between 6 and 18 years of age and their mothers completed questionnaires assessing the children's somatic symptoms, functional disability, and depression. Mothers of children with recurrent abdominal pain reported more child somatic and depressive symptoms than did their children, and mothers of children with emotional disorders reported more child depressive symptoms than did their children. Higher levels of maternal distress were associated with greater mother-child discordance in the direction of mothers reporting more child symptoms than did their children. No significant child age or sex differences were found in concordance patterns.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Pain/diagnosis , Mood Disorders/diagnosis , Personality Inventory , Psychometrics , Somatoform Disorders/diagnosis , Abdominal Pain/psychology , Adolescent , Analysis of Variance , Child , Chronic Disease , Female , Humans , Male , Mothers/psychology , Observer Variation , TennesseeABSTRACT
Assessed attributions and responses to descriptions of the misbehavior of children with symptoms of physical and emotional illnesses. Subjects (160 mothers; 160 fathers) read a vignette about a child in one of four illness conditions (medically explained pain with organic etiology; medically unexplained pain, depression, well) who was described as misbehaving at home and school. Within each illness condition, the child protagonist varied by age (8 vs. 16) and gender. A between-subjects design was used in which subjects made judgments regarding causes and responsibility for the child's misbehavior, affective reactions to the child, and the consequences that should be administered to the child. Results indicated that, in comparison to subjects' perceptions of the misbehavior of children in the other conditions, subjects viewed the misbehavior of children with medically explained pain as less intentional, more excusable, and due to causes that were less internal to the child. Subjects held children with medically explained pain less responsible for their misbehavior and indicated that they would respond to them with less anger, disappointment, blame, and punishment than to children in the other conditions. Subjects did not hold children with symptoms of depression and children with unexplained pain complaints less responsible for their misbehavior, but indicated that they would respond to them with less anger, disappointment, and punishment than to well children.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior , Parent-Child Relations , Sick Role , Adolescent , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Causality , Child , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Pain/psychology , United StatesABSTRACT
Investigated somatic and emotional symptoms, functional disability, and health service utilization in 31 former RAP patients and 31 former well patients who had originally been interviewed 5 to 6 years earlier. Both former patients and their mothers were interviewed for this follow-up study. Medical records were obtained for those patients who reported receiving new diagnoses for abdominal pain since their initial assessment. Results indicated that only one of the former RAP patients was later diagnosed with organic disease that clearly accounted for his earlier abdominal pain. Nonetheless, at follow-up former RAP patients reported significantly higher levels of abdominal pain, other somatic symptoms, and functional disability (including school/work absence) than did former well patients. Mothers reported higher levels of internalizing emotional symptoms in former RAP patients than in former well patients.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Pain/psychology , Long-Term Care , Abdominal Pain/diagnosis , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Health Services/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Male , Recurrence , Severity of Illness Index , Somatoform Disorders/diagnosis , Somatoform Disorders/psychologyABSTRACT
The present study examined the extent to which mothers' ratings of their psychological distress, marital adjustment, and negative life events were related to maternal ratings of child behavior problems. Data were collected from mothers of 110 children (ages 2 to 12 years) who were referred to a pediatric clinic for a variety of common behavioral concerns. Maternal psychological distress and marital adjustment were significantly correlated with mothers' ratings on a child behavior checklist. Maternal psychological distress also accounted for a significant amount of the variance in maternal child behavior ratings over and above that accounted for by fathers' ratings of the same behaviors. Given that maternal characteristics co-vary significantly with reports of child behavior problems, pediatricians should interpret findings derived from child behavior rating scales within the overall family context.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior Disorders/epidemiology , Mothers/psychology , Stress, Psychological/complications , Adaptation, Psychological , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Child Behavior Disorders/etiology , Child, Preschool , Employment/psychology , Hospitals, University , Humans , Internal-External Control , Life Change Events , Marriage/psychology , Mass Screening , Models, Psychological , Outpatient Clinics, Hospital , Pediatrics/methods , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic Factors , Stress, Psychological/diagnosis , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Tennessee/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Assessed patterns of stress in families of children with pediatric conditions that varied on 2 dimensions: (a) fatal vs. nonfatal outcome and (b) presence vs. absence of cognitive impairment. Families of children with cystic fibrosis (n = 23), diabetes (n = 24), and moderate mental retardation (n = 24) were compared to families of well children (n = 24) in 3 age groups. Maternal responses to a multidimensional measure of family stress, the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress--Short Form (QRS-S), indicated that families of children with chronic conditions did not differ from families of well children on scales assessing generic aspects of family stress, such as family conflict. However, diagnostic groups differed on QRS-S scales assessing stressors specific to the child's disability (e.g., families of children with mental retardation were characterized by concerns about caring for the child as an adult). There was no evidence of higher levels of stress for families of older children. Data on the internal consistency of QRS-S scales and their relation to measures of maternal and child adjustment are presented.
