Lavigne J V, Faier-Routman J
Department of Child Psychiatry, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois 60614.
J Pediatr Psychol. 1992 Apr;17(2):133-57. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/17.2.133.
Reviewed 87 studies of children's adjustment to physical disorders in a meta-analysis. Results indicate (a) children with such disorders show increased risk for overall adjustment problems, internalizing and externalizing symptoms; (b) risk was greatest in studies making comparisons to norms rather than to study controls; (c) risk varied by informant (teacher, mental health professional, parent), and by degree of matching with controls; (d) the self-concept of children with physical disorders across all studies appears significant for studies with careful matching or comparisons with norms; (e) there are interdisease differences, but the number of studies within individual disorders, with a few exceptions, are quite small. The need for improved methodology is discussed.
