Perrin E C, West P D, Culley B S
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
Pediatrics. 1989 Mar;83(3):355-63.
There are some children whose parents believe them to be unusually susceptible to medical or developmental problems--"vulnerable"--despite a lack of objective evidence of any difficulty. The "vulnerable child syndrome" refers to a constellation of behaviors that are thought to develop as a result of this excessive parental anxiety and subsequent difficulties in limit setting. In this study, the sense of vulnerability expressed by mothers concerning their healthy 3-year-old children is explored; children born prematurely and with considerable neonatal morbidity are compared with children born at full-term. Sense of vulnerability is assessed through the use of a simple instrument, the use and validity of which are described. Mothers of premature infants described a significantly greater sense of vulnerability concerning their children than did mothers of full-term infants. Mothers with more education described a greater sense of vulnerability than did less well-educated mothers, although mothers who claimed greater well-being and marital satisfaction described a lesser sense of vulnerability. Mothers with a greater sense of vulnerability concerning their children also reported more behavior problems, especially in the sphere of discipline, peer relationships and self-control, and in internalizing and somatic symptoms. Pediatricians can intervene in the development of the vulnerable child syndrome by recognizing those children at special risk and helping their parents to nurture their health and independence.
有些孩子，尽管缺乏任何困难的客观证据，但他们的父母认为他们异常容易出现医学或发育问题——即“易受伤害”。“易受伤害儿童综合征”指的是一系列行为，这些行为被认为是由于父母过度焦虑以及随后在设定界限方面的困难而产生的。在本研究中，探讨了母亲们对其健康的3岁孩子所表达的易受伤害感；将早产且有相当程度新生儿发病情况的儿童与足月出生的儿童进行比较。通过使用一种简单工具来评估易受伤害感，该工具的使用方法和有效性已作描述。与足月婴儿的母亲相比，早产婴儿的母亲描述了对其孩子明显更强的易受伤害感。受教育程度较高的母亲比受教育程度较低的母亲描述了更强的易受伤害感，不过声称幸福感和婚姻满意度较高的母亲描述的易受伤害感较低。对孩子有更强易受伤害感的母亲也报告了更多行为问题，尤其是在纪律、同伴关系和自我控制方面，以及在内化症状和躯体症状方面。儿科医生可以通过识别那些处于特殊风险中的儿童，并帮助他们的父母培养孩子的健康和独立性，来干预易受伤害儿童综合征的发展。
