[Psychosocial dwarfism--a rare form of growth disorder]

Psychosocial dwarfism is a syndrome caused by emotional deprivation (maternal deprivation), characterized by symptoms of delayed motor and intellectual development, abnormal eating and drinking habits, enuresis and encopresis, aggressiveness and a pathological family structure. Diagnosis of psychosocial dwarfism is easy if the case history is carefully elicited and the growth hormone level is determined within the first few days following change in environment (e.g. hospitalization). Difficulty in reaching the correct diagnosis or misdiagnosis can occur if the symptomatology is not studied in its entirety. Diagnosis at the earliest possible stage is very important for the further development of the child, since behavioural disturbances and growth retardation are reversible with environmental change. This is demonstrated by the presentation of the case history of a 6 year-old boy--the third case reported in the German literature.