Parent and child behavior during immunization

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a mother's rating of her own and her child's anxiety and their observed behavior during an immunization. Eighty-three preschool children and their mothers were observed in a health screening clinic while the child received an immunization. Each mother was asked to rate how anxious she and her child were immediately prior to the immunization. Both mother and child behaviors were observed and rated using separate 5-point behavior scales. The results of this study indicate that although child behavior during an immunization varied a great deal, most mothers reassured and very few admonished their children during the immunization procedure. Children with extremely reassuring parents fell into 2 distinct groups with half responding distressed and half non-distressed during the immunization. Mothers of these children who rated their children as highly anxious prior to the procedure had children who were most likely to be observed to be distressed during the procedure.