EMOTIONAL REACTIONS TO MEDICAL PROCEDURES AND ILLNESS IN A HOSPITAL CHILD PSYCHIATRY UNIT

• Published in: American journal of orthopsychiatry 1958-01, Vol.28 (1), p.180-187
• Main Authors: Sutton, Helen A., Falstein, Eugene I., Judas, Ilse
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autism Spectrum Disorders; Child; Child Psychiatry; Emotional States; Female; Human; Humans; Male; Nursing; Old Medline; Psychiatric Hospitals; Psychology, Child; Therapeutic Processes
• ISSN: 0002-9432; 1939-0025
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1958.tb03735.x

This study investigated the emotional reactions to medical procedures and illness in a hospital child psychiatry unit. detailed analysis was made of the daily anecdotal nursing records of 5 children. From the total of 12 children, 3 girls and 2 boys, 6 to 10 years of age, were selected because of their ability to communicate their feelings through speech and group play, in contrast to the mute, autistic children whose responses were more difficult to elicit and to comprehend. record of group responses was reconstructed by means of conferences with nurses who had observed spontaneous group responses. The psychiatrist correlated the responses with the individual history and the concurrent individual psychotherapy of each child. Frequency and intensity of responses to certain procedures were assumed to furnish evidence that certain procedures were more traumatic than others. The five children expressed greater anxiety over medical procedures then over illnesses. In conclusion, it seems that an absolute minimum of medical procedures is indicated with all children and particularly with emotionally disturbed children. Their responses to specific procedures and illnesses are determined by the level of their instinctual development and by their psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)