Identifying children at high somatic risk: possible long-term effects on the parents' attitudes and feelings associated with the child.

alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (ATD) predisposes the individual for serious lung disease in adulthood. The identification of ATD by neonatal screening was hypothesized to have negative long-term effects on the parents' attitudes and feelings associated with the child. This hypothesis was tested by comparing these attitudes and feelings of parents of 61 clinically healthy 5-7-year-old children with ATD versus those of parents of 61 control children without ATD. The data were collected by interviews in the home. No evidence was found to support the hypothesized negative effect on parental attitudes and feelings. A consistent but weak increase in positive feelings and attitudes toward the child was noted among the mothers of children with ATD.