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Psychological adjustment of physically sick children: relationship with temperament
1Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
Insights
Children with chronic physical illnesses show poorer psychological adjustment. Temperament, especially low distractibility, significantly impacts adjustment, while illness duration does not. This highlights key factors in pediatric chronic illness adjustment.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Pediatric Health
- Psychological Adjustment
Background:
- Children with chronic physical illnesses often face psychological adjustment challenges.
- Understanding factors influencing this adjustment is crucial for supportive care.
- Previous research has explored various contributing elements to child well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of temperament and illness duration in psychological adjustment variability among children with chronic physical illnesses.
- To compare the psychological adjustment of chronically ill children with healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Assessed temperament and psychological adjustment in 50 children with chronic physical illnesses (non-brain related) and 50 healthy controls.
- Utilized the Temperament Schedule and Childhood Psychopathology Measurement Schedule for assessments.
- Employed matched control group design for robust comparison.
Main Results:
- Chronically ill children exhibited less psychological adjustment compared to healthy controls.
- Physically sick children (32%) were twice as likely to show maladjustment than healthy children (16%).
- Temperament, specifically low distractibility, significantly predicted 23% of the variance in maladjustment; illness duration did not.
Conclusions:
- Temperament is a significant factor influencing psychological adjustment in children with chronic physical illness.
- Illness duration does not appear to be a significant predictor of psychological maladjustment in this population.
- Findings suggest focusing on temperament-based interventions to support pediatric chronic illness adjustment.
Abstract:
The contribution of temperament and duration of illness in the variability in the psychological adjustment of children with chronic physical illness was studied. The temperament and psychological adjustment of a group of 50 children with chronic physical illnesses not involving the brain and a matched control group of 50 physically healthy children were assessed through Temperament Schedule and Childhood Psychopathology Measurement Schedule developed and standardized by the first author. Results indicated that sick children were less psychologically adjusted than the healthy controls and more adjusted than children referred for psychiatric concerns. Twice as many physically sick children (32%) showed maladjustment than did healthy children (16%). Temperament, particularly low distractibility, made a significant contribution to predicted variance (23%) in maladjustment whereas duration of illness did not.