Childhood burns reconsidered: the child, the family, and the burn injury.

The psychosocial characteristics of 100 burned children and their families were assessed along with characteristics of the burn event and injury. The findings were compared to other studies of burned children from Australia, Great Britain, and the United States to identify patterns of childhood burn injury. It is concluded that children most at risk for burns are very young and male. Often they are the younger or youngest child in a larger-than-expected family. They tend to come from single-parent and economically disadvantaged households. Moreover, burned children frequently have psychological handicaps and a history of previous burns. These findings and others were used to identify subgroups of children most at risk for burn injury and the most common precipitating events. The importance of prevention of these injuries for professionals dealing with such children is emphasized.