Related Experiment Videos
The effects of stress on children's human figure drawings
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Child Development
- Medical Psychology
Background:
- Hospitalization and surgery can induce significant stress in children.
- Understanding children's emotional responses to medical procedures is crucial for effective care.
- Emotional indicators (EIs) can provide insights into a child's psychological state during stressful events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of stress and preparation for stress on children's emotional indicators.
- To examine how different preparation strategies affect children's emotional responses to venipuncture.
- To correlate emotional indicators with physiological measures like pulse rate.
Main Methods:
- 68 children (aged 4-12) hospitalized for elective surgery participated.
- Children drew human figures twice: pre- and post-stress exposure.
- Interventions included stress (venipuncture) or no stress, with or without preparation (information, rehearsal, supportive care).
- Coping behavior and pulse were measured pre- and post-intervention.
Main Results:
- Emotional indicators increased significantly only in the group that experienced stress without preparation.
- Emotional indicators correlated with pulse rate measured during venipuncture.
- Preparation for stress did not mitigate the rise in emotional indicators in this study.
Conclusions:
- Children's emotional indicators are sensitive to stressful medical procedures.
- Lack of preparation exacerbates emotional distress in children undergoing venipuncture.
- Interpreting children's drawings requires consideration of their current stress levels and understanding of stressful situations.
Abstract:
Investigated the effect of stress and preparation for stress on emotional indicators (EIs) of 68 children, aged 4 to 12 years, who were hospitalized for elective surgery. All children were asked twice to draw a human figure, once shortly after admission and again 90 minutes later. In the interim, they received stress (venipuncture or "blood test") or no stress (venipuncture delayed until after second drawing), and were either prepared (information, rehearsal and supportive care) or not prepared (free play) for the stressful situation. EIs increased only in the group tor mental age score of drawing. Pre- and post-measures of coping behavior and pulse also were assessed. EIs correlated with pulse taken at the time of the venipuncture. Examiners who interpret drawings by this method must consider the effect of current stress and the child's understanding of stress.