Self-concept before and after two years of growth hormone treatment in intrauterine growth-retarded children.
The objective of this study was to assess self-concept in children with short stature after intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), before and after 2 years of growth hormone (hGH) treatment. We assessed 25 children before treatment, and 40 children after a 2-year treatment period. Seventeen of the 25 children of whom we had pretreatment data, were reassessed after 2 years of hGH treatment. All children had a birth length below the 3rd percentile, and did not show catch-up growth (current height < P3). We compared the self-concept measures (Self-Perception Profile for Children; SPPC) of the IUGR group with similar measures of a Dutch school sample. Four of the six SPPC mean scale scores of the IUGR group prior to treatment were significantly lower than mean scores of the school sample. Mean-scale scores of the group children, assessed after 2 years of hGH treatment, did not differ significantly from those of the school sample. In the group of 17 children who were assessed before as well as after 2 years of treatment, the mean scale scores of 'social acceptance' and 'general self-worth' were significantly higher at the second assessment (t = -5.93, p < 0.001 and t = -4.36, p < 0.001, respectively). From the present study we can hypothesize that short stature after IUGR and a low self-concept are related.
van der Reijden-Lakeman
I
I
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Sophia Children's Hospital/Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Slijper
F M
FM
van Dongen-Melman
J E
JE
de Waal
W J
WJ
Verhulst
F C
FC
D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D013997:Time Factors
D019382:Human Growth Hormone