Emotional adjustment of children with hydrocephalus and of their parents.
Emotional and behavioral adjustment after infantile hydrocephalus were investigated. Children's and parents' adjustments were assessed by means of questionnaires (PIC-R, SCL-90-R) in a sample of 48 children with shunted hydrocephalus. The PIC-R patterns of the children were mostly reflective of their anomalous physical and cognitive development, but there was no evidence for a specific "hydrocephalic personality" pattern. Discriminant analyses revealed that there were no strong relationships between distress of the parents (as assessed by the SCL-90-R) and a variety of physical and psychosocial variables, despite the fact that many parents were significantly distressed. It was concluded that the majority of children with hydrocephalus do not present with a specific psychiatric profile, that clinically significant levels of distress are quite common in their parents, and that such distress is typically not related to the hydrocephalus per se.
Donders
J
J
Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Ontario.
Rourke
B P
BP
Canady
A I
AI
D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D002666:Psychology, Child