Family functioning 3 years after infantile colic.

Infantile colic causes stress to many families during the first weeks of an infant's life. In our previous studies, we found that families with severely colicky infants had more problems in their daily functioning than did families without colicky infants and that the affective state in these families was anxious and conflicted. These characteristics showed some stability from the colicky period to 1 year of age. In the present study, we examined the functioning of these families 3 years after the colicky period. The McMaster Family Assessment Device was used to evaluate the family interaction in 59 families with previously colicky infants and 58 control families. Three years after the colicky period, families with moderately and severely colicky infants did not differ significantly from control families with respect to psychological family characteristics.