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 Which
Disabled Kids Face More Psychosocial Problems? Those with
learning, communication impairments have tougher time, study
finds.
Physical limitations in themselves are not detrimental to
psychosocial adjustment and that there needs to be a stronger
focus on the whole family when treating children with
disabilities says study author Whitney P. Witt, of Massachusetts
General Hospital.
Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, July 14, 2003
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Family stress
and difficulties with learning and communication are the
strongest risk factors for the development of psychosocial
problems among disabled children.
Children who have impaired learning or communication skills were
much more likely than other disabled children to have poor
psychosocial adjustment, says a study in the July issue of the
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
Family stress caused by factors such as poverty and the impact
of the child's disability on the family also increased the
likelihood of psychosocial problems in disabled children.
The researchers analyzed information about 3,300 children, aged
6 to 17, collected from the 1994 and 1995 U.S. National Health
Interview Surveys, which included special sections on disability
among household members.
The study excluded children with disabilities that were
primarily psychiatric.
Of the disabled children included in the study, about 11 percent
had psychosocial problems, such as anxiety, depression,
hostility or poor interaction with their peers.
While children with limited mobility were not at increased risk
for these problems, children with disabilities that hampered
their ability to learn or communicate did have a greater chance
of having psychosocial problems.
The same was true for disabled children whose mothers reported
being distressed or depressed and for children whose
disabilities placed additional stresses on their families by
creating problems with work, sleep or finances.
"This study clarifies that physical limitations in themselves
are not detrimental to psychosocial adjustment and that there
needs to be stronger focus on the whole family when treating
children with disabilities," study author Whitney P. Witt,
Massachusetts General Hospital, says in a news release.
"Paying more attention to the family environment and providing
appropriate support services could make a significant difference
in how these children adjust," Witt says.
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