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The psychosocial impact of play on hospitalized children
Insights
Therapeutic play significantly reduced self-reported hospital fears in children. However, parent and nurse ratings did not show significant differences across play interventions, suggesting complex factors influence perceived adjustment in hospitalized children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Childhood Illness and Coping
Background:
- Hospitalization for acute illness can negatively impact children's psychosocial adjustment.
- Understanding effective interventions to mitigate distress during pediatric hospital stays is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effects of different play interventions on the psychosocial adjustment of hospitalized children.
- To assess self-reported, nurse-reported, and parent-reported measures of adjustment.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 46 children hospitalized for acute illness.
- Four groups were compared: therapeutic play, diversionary play, verbal support, and a no-treatment control group.
- Psychosocial adjustment was measured using self-reports and ratings from nurses and parents.
Main Results:
- Children in the therapeutic play group showed a significant decrease in self-reported hospital fears.
- No significant differences in adjustment were found based on nurse or parent ratings across the intervention groups.
- Parents reported decreased anxiety in their children from pre- to post-testing, regardless of the treatment group.
Conclusions:
- Therapeutic play may be effective in reducing children's subjective experience of hospital fears.
- Discrepancies between child self-reports and adult ratings highlight the complexity of measuring adjustment in this population.
- Methodological considerations may influence the outcomes observed in research on play interventions for hospitalized children.
Abstract:
Compared the effects of play on the psychosocial adjustment of 46 children hospitalized for acute illness, who were placed in one of four groups: therapeutic play, diversionary play, verbal support, and no treatment. Ratings of psychological adjustment included self-report, as well as nurse and parent ratings. Children in the therapeutic play condition evidenced a significant reduction in self-reported hospital fears. Parent ratings were not affected by therapeutic treatments; rather, parents in all four groups rated their children less anxious from pre- to posttesting. Results are discussed in terms of methodological considerations that have affected outcomes in this type of research.