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Behavioral and environmental characteristics of treated and untreated enuretic children and matched nonenuretic
Insights
Children receiving treatment for bed-wetting (enuresis) were older and had more frequent accidents. Their parents showed more intolerance, and fathers often held blue-collar jobs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Child Psychology
- Urology
Background:
- Nocturnal enuresis, or bed-wetting, affects children and can be influenced by behavioral, parental, and environmental factors.
- Understanding differences between treated and untreated enuretic children is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore behavioral, parental, and environmental distinctions in children with enuresis, comparing those receiving treatment versus those not.
Main Methods:
- A correlational study involving 5- to 12-year-old children with at least weekly nocturnal incontinence.
- Comparison of a clinical enuretic group (n=17, receiving pharmacologic treatment) with a nonclinical enuretic group (n=20, not receiving treatment).
Main Results:
- Clinical enuretic children were older and experienced more frequent bed-wetting than the nonclinical group.
- Fathers in the clinical group more often held blue-collar jobs, and mothers showed greater intolerance towards enuresis.
- Enuretic children, in general, exhibited more conduct problems and immature behavior compared to nonenuretic counterparts.
Conclusions:
- Treatment-seeking for enuresis is associated with older age, higher frequency of wetting, specific parental attitudes, and socioeconomic factors.
- While behavioral issues like conduct problems are linked to enuresis, specific child-rearing practices and life-stress events did not differentiate treated from untreated groups in this study.
Abstract:
This correlational study investigated possible behavioral, parental, and environmental differences in enuretic children who were either receiving or not receiving treatment for bed-wetting. The subjects wer 5- to 12-year-old children who were nocturnally incontinent at least once a week and physically normal in all other respects. Seventeen of these youngsters were receiving pharmacologic treatment for enuresis (clinical enuretic group) and 20 were not (nonclinical enuretic group). Clinical enuretic children were older and wet more frequently than youngsters whose parents had not sought treatment for this problem. Their fathers more often held blue-collar jobs and their mothers were more intolerant of enuresis than were parents of the nonclinical enuretic sample. These two groups did not differ in number and type of child behavior problems, number of life-stress events, age toilet training commenced, or parental child-rearing practices employed. However, enuretic youngsters displayed more conduct problems and immature behavior than their nonenuretic counterparts. Mothers of enuretic youngsters applied more rule-oriented child-rearing practices than mothers of nonenuretic controls. There were no differences between the enuretic and nonenuretic groups in number of early-life stressful events or the age at which toilet training commenced.