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MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND SPEECH DEVELOPMENT IN TODDLERS WITH PHYSICAL ILLNESSES
Insights
Children with physical illnesses show more mental health issues and speech delays compared to healthy peers. Early detection and intervention are crucial for these vulnerable children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Mental health problems are increasingly prevalent in children and adolescents.
- Children with physical illnesses face a heightened risk of developing associated mental health conditions.
- Early detection and intervention are vital for managing these co-occurring issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in mental health problems and speech development between children with physical illnesses and healthy children.
- To compare the prevalence of behavioral and emotional issues in toddlers with and without physical health conditions.
- To assess language development delays in young children with chronic or acute physical illnesses.
Main Methods:
- An observational, cross-sectional study involving 100 children aged 18-36 months.
- Comparison between 50 children with physical illnesses and 50 healthy controls.
- Utilized "A checklist of child behavior" and "A survey of language development" for data collection.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant differences were observed in emotional reactivity, anxiety/depression, withdrawal, aggression, stress, internalization, and externalization.
- Children with physical illnesses exhibited a higher prevalence of overall mental health problems.
- A significant difference was also found in the incidence of language delay.
Conclusions:
- Mental health problems are more pronounced in children with physical illnesses compared to healthy children.
- Language development delays are more common in children experiencing physical health challenges.
- Findings underscore the need for integrated care addressing both physical and mental well-being in pediatric populations.
Introduction:
Mental health problems develop more and more frequently in children and adolescents. Children with physical ill- nesses are at a particular risk of developing associated mental health problems and it is important to study this association in order to detect and treat these problems on time. This study was aimed at determining whether there were differences in the presence of mental health problems and delayed speech development in children with physical illnesses between 18 and 36 months of age compared to the presence of these problems in healthy children.
Material And Methods:
The study was carried out as an observational cross-sectional study. It included 100 children, of both sexes, aged up to 3 years. The first group consisted of 50 children with physical illnesses that were hospitalized at the Institute for Child and Youth Health Care of Vojvodina, and the control group consisted of 50 healthy children of the same age who attended kindergarten "Radosno detinjstvo" inNovi Sad. The instrument of the study was "A checklist of child behavior for children aged 1.5 to 5 years". The hypothesis was checked with t-test for independent samples. "A survey of language development for children aged 18 to 35 months" was used for assessing the language development. The second part of the hypothesis was checked with chi-square test.
Results:
A statistically significant difference was detected in the following dimensions of the questionnaire: emotional reactivity, anxiety / depression, withdrawal, aggression, stress, internalization, externalization, and total problems. A statistically significant difference was also found in the area of language delay.
Conclusion:
It has been concluded that mental health problems, as well as the language delay, are more pronounced among the children with physical illnesses than in the control group of children.
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