Neonatal screening: life-stress scores in families given a false-positive result.

In a previous study the psychological reactions to a false-positive result of a neonatal screening test were studied in 102 families. The present study deals with life-stress factors in the same families at the time of screening. The number of factors are used to denote a life-stress score and the families have been divided into two groups: those with high and those with low scores. The children's physical health during the first year and the changes in the families during the five years after the screening have also been investigated. There were no large differences between the two groups of families; however, the mothers in families with high scores more often breastfed their children for less than two months, more frequently required medical care during the infants' first year of life and were more often separated during the first five years.