title: Risk factors for acute stress disorder in children with burns.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to (1) estimate the prevalence of acute stress disorder (ASD) in a sample of burned children, and (2) determine risk factors for ASD in these children. Seventy-two children were assessed for acute stress disorder approximately 10 days after being hospitalized for a burn. Variables hypothesized to predict ASD symptoms (i.e., size of the burn, prior behavioral symptoms, body image, parents' symptoms, heart rate) were also assessed. Based on a diagnosis derived from the ASD module of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA), 31% of children met criteria for ASD. Path analyses revealed that the variables of heart rate, body image, and parents' acute stress symptoms were directly related to the development of ASD symptoms and accounted for 41% of its variance. These variables also mediated the relationship between the size of the burn and ASD symptoms. ASD is found in almost one third of children hospitalized for a burn. A high resting heart rate, lowered body image, and parent's acute stress symptoms were found to be significant risk factors for ASD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA. glenn.saxe@bmc.org
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saxe
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.forename: Neharika
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.forename: Carlos G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sheridan
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Lynda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D040701:Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*