Psychological Adjustment of Children with Asthma: Effects of Illness Severity and Recent Stressful Life Events

Abstract

Although children with chronic illness are at greater risk for decreased psychological adjustment than physically healthy children, little is known about the factors that lead to increased risk. Eighty-one children with asthma between the ages of 6 and 14 years and their parents participated in a study to determine the relative contribution of background variables (age, gender, and socioeconomic status), recent stressful life events, and illness severity to psychological adaptation. Overall 11.5% of the children had CBCL Total Behavior Problems scores above the 98th percentile. Multiple regression revealed that lower SES, negative life change, and high illness severity were predictive of less optimal psychological adjustment. The results highlight the need for interventions to improve coping with both disease and nondisease issues.