Anxiety among hospitalized latency-age children

We investigated the following three assumptions regarding anxiety in hospitalized children: (1) anxiety decreases during hospitalization, (2) anxiety correlates with symptoms, procedures, and parental anxiety, and (3) anxiety is reduced following guided play with real and simulated medical equipment. Fifty latency-age children and their parents were studied. Anxiety was measured by self-report, parental report, nurse's report, and direct observation. Potential correlates were monitored daily by review of patient care records, and interviews of primary nurses and parents. Hypothesis one was confirmed; anxiety decreased significantly (p less than 0.001) across the four assessments. Hypothesis two was confirmed; symptoms, procedures, and parental anxiety accounted for 27-30% of the variance in children's anxiety. Hypothesis three was not confirmed; anxiety decreased following guided play, but not enough to reach statistical significance.