Asthma attack frequency in a pediatric population

The joint occurrence of asthmatic symptomatology and psychological maladjustment does not necessarily imply a functional relationship between these two sets of phenomena. To test the contribution of psychological adjustment to the prediction of asthma symptomatology, a stepwise multiple regression was applied. Pulmonary and psychological adjustment variables were included in the regression analysis. The single best predictor of attack frequency was the pulmonary factor MMEF. Predictability was significantly increased with the family adjustment rating, the pulmonary factor FEV1, and the Child Adjustment Rating entered into the equation. The results were interpreted to be consistent with psychosomatic theory.