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Behavioral, emotional and social functioning in children born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Elin Öst1,2, Margret Nisell3, Carmen Mesas Burgos4,5
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden. elin.ost@ki.se.
Insights
Children born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) generally show normal social and emotional development. However, reduced activity levels may be a concern for these individuals.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a serious birth defect.
- Long-term outcomes for CDH survivors require ongoing investigation.
- Assessing psychosocial development is crucial for pediatric patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate social competence in children and adolescents with CDH.
- To identify behavioral and emotional problems in CDH survivors.
- To understand the long-term psychosocial adjustment of individuals born with CDH.
Main Methods:
- Study included long-term survivors of CDH treated between 1990-2009 in Stockholm.
- Child Behavior Checklist and Adult Self-Report questionnaires were utilized.
- Manifest content analysis was applied to open-ended questions.
Main Results:
- Most parents reported normal behavioral and emotional functioning for their children.
- Young adults with CDH achieved normal scores on syndrome and competence scales.
- Reduced activity levels were noted, particularly in boys compared to girls.
Conclusions:
- The majority of CDH survivors exhibit normal social and school competence.
- Behavioral and emotional problems are infrequent among CDH patients.
- Activity levels may be a key area for monitoring in CDH survivors.
Purpose:
The aim was to investigate social competence and behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents born with CDH.
Methods:
All children born with CDH, treated in Stockholm 1990-2009, were invited to participate. After written consent, the Child Behavior Checklist or Adult Self-Report questionnaires were sent to participants. Of the 145 long-term survivors, 51% returned a completed questionnaire. Both the syndrome and competence scales were used and open-ended questions were analyzed with manifest content analysis.
Results:
All parents of children aged 1.5-5 years and 90% of parents of children aged 6-18 years reported a normal range on the syndrome scale. Five parents indicated internalizing, but none externalizing behavior. All young adults achieved a normal score on the syndrome scale. Eighty-five percent had normal school achievement, 79% had normal social scores and 40% had normal activity levels. Significantly fewer boys (23%) were in the normal activity range compared with 67% of girls.
Conclusions:
The vast majority of all parents of children born with CDH scored no behavioral or emotional problems, furthermore, they reported normal social and school competence. However, the activity levels seemed to be reduced in children born with CDH.
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