title: Psychological adjustment of adolescents with myelodysplasia.
abstract: The psychosocial development of 20 adolescents with congenital paralysis due to myelodysplasia is compared to 20 age- and gender-matched subjects with no physical handicap. On many of the measures the myelodysplasia group showed poorer adjustment and lower self-esteem than the controls. Consistent with hypotheses regarding adjustment during adolescence the paralyzed males did show greater concern on Offer's scales of Body and Self-Image and External Mastery and showed poorer adjustment on his Sexual Attitudes Scale. The paralyzed girls, particularly those 13 years or younger, showed the poorest emotional adjustment with a significant variability in responses on many of the tests. This degree of variability may indicate a lack of integration of self-concepts and is consistent with an emotional immaturity discordant with advanced physiologic maturation of these girls.
authors.affiliation: Adolescent Clinic, Child Development and Retardation Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Hayden
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Davenport