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Examining emotional distress during pediatric hospitalization for school-aged children
P A Mabe1, F A Treiber, W T Riley
1Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912.
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Pediatric patients
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Child Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Pediatric hospitalization can cause emotional distress in children.
- Understanding factors influencing distress is crucial for supportive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine emotional distress in school-aged children during hospitalization.
- To identify predictors of depressive and anxious symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Multiple regression analyses were used.
- 80 school-aged children were studied.
- Data collected on physical symptoms, parental distress, age, social support, medical procedures, and prior hospitalizations.
Main Results:
- Depressive and anxious symptoms correlated positively with symptom duration and parental distress.
- Depressive symptoms negatively correlated with age and family social support.
- Medical procedures and prior hospitalizations did not predict symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Children may habituate to hospitalization experiences.
- Focusing on symptom duration, parental distress, age, and social support is key.
- Previous experiences may not always increase distress.
Abstract:
Emotional distress was examined in 80 school-aged children during pediatric hospitalization. Using multiple regression analyses, children's depressive and anxious symptoms were positively related to duration of physical symptoms and parental distress. Depressive symptoms were negatively related to age and the perceived social support available from the family. Unexpectedly, the frequency of medical procedures and previous hospitalization experiences were not associated with depressive or anxious symptoms. Because many of the children in this study had experienced enduring symptoms and frequent previous hospitalizations, it was hypothesized that they may have habituated and adjusted to many of the experiences of hospitalization and thus were not adversely affected by such experiences.