title: Early predictors of post-hospital adjustment problems in critically ill young children.
abstract: Toddlers and preschool children have been identified as being at risk for post-hospital behavioral sequelae, especially when confronted with an unanticipated intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization. The purpose of this predictive secondary analysis was to determine demographic and clinical variables that could be assessed early during hospitalization to predict internalizing and externalizing behaviors and negative behavioral change of 2- to 7-year-old children at 3 and 6 months following an unanticipated critical care hospitalization (n = 163 mother-child dyads). The children's behavioral predilections prior to hospitalization (i.e., internalizing or externalizing behaviors) and sex, as well as elevated maternal state anxiety, marital status, and level of emotional care giving by mothers, significantly predicted child internalizing and externalizing behavior and post-hospitalization behavior changes. Results suggest several risk factors that predispose children to poor outcomes following an unanticipated hospitalization that could be targeted for intervention to improve children's emotional and behavioral health.
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University College of Nursing, Tempe, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: Bernadette Mazurek
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Melnyk
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003422:Critical Care / Q000523:psychology; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010351:Patient Discharge; D002666:Psychology, Child; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires