Children's recall of medical experiences: the impact of stress

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D A Brown1, K Salmon, M E Pipe

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Child Abuse & Neglect
|April 29, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Children recalling stressful medical events (like voiding cysto-urethrograms) remembered more details than those recalling neutral events (pediatric assessments), but with less accuracy.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Psychology
  • Child Development
  • Medical Event Recall

Background:

  • Understanding children's memory for medical events is crucial for improving patient care.
  • Factors influencing recall, such as event type and stress, require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare children's recall of two distinct medical events: a voiding cysto-urethrogram (VCUG) and a pediatric assessment (PA).
  • To examine the influence of event type and props on children's memory reports.

Main Methods:

  • Twenty children (37-67 months) were interviewed 6-8 days post-event.
  • Interviews involved recall of either a VCUG or PA, using dolls and props.

Main Results:

  • Higher stress ratings were reported for the VCUG compared to the PA.
  • Children recalled more correct information after the VCUG than the PA.
  • Stress levels correlated with both accuracy and errors in recall.

Conclusions:

  • Stressful medical procedures may enhance the quantity of children's recall, but potentially at the cost of accuracy.
  • Differences in recall may also be influenced by the procedural nature of the event and familiarity with props.
Abstract

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