Sixty children about to undergo elective surgery for hernias, tonsillectomies, or urinary-genital tract difficulties were shown on hospital admission either a relevant peer modeling film of a child being hospitalized and receiving surgery or an unrelated control film. Both groups received extensive preparation by the hospital staff. State measures of anxiety, including self-report, behavioral observation, and Palmar Sweat Index, revealed a significant reduction of preoperative (night before) and postoperative (3-4 week postsurgery examination) fear arousal in the experimental as compared to the control film group. The parents reported a significant posthospital increment in the frequency of behavior problems in the children who had not seen the modeling film. Trait measures of anxiety did not reflect the group differences due to the hospital experience.
The Society of Pediatric Psychology offers this document as a comprehensive review of the ideal types of training experiences most important to developing competencies in pediatric psychology. These recommendations can be used by graduate students and graduate programs in shaping a training plan for students interested in pediatric psychology training.
The effectiveness in stress reduction of teaching specific coping skills or providing sensory information about the dental experience was investigated in preschool-aged children. Forty-two children were assigned to one of three conditions: self-control coping skills, sensory information, or no treatment with experimenter contact. Response to dental treatment was measured by behavioral, physiological, and self-report measures during a prophylaxis and a restorative dental session. Results indicated that both experimental treatments were significantly more effective than the control condition in reducing disruptive behaviors, ratings of anxiety and discomfort, and physiological arousal, and in increasing children's cooperation during the dental procedures. There were no differences in effectiveness between the experimental groups.
Only recently has the mental health community recognized the applicability of diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents, including a consideration of specific age-related features. This paper provides a current review of the literature on PTSD pertaining to children and adolescents. Following a discussion of issues on diagnostic criteria and assessment of this affective disorder in this population, there is an overview of the existing literature on prevalence, comorbidity, risk factors, parental and family factors, and issues of gender and age of onset. The remainder of the paper focuses on the range of traumatic stressors in children and adolescents that can result in PTSD, including natural or human disasters, war and violence, chronic or life-threatening medical conditions, community violence and the witnessing of traumatic events, and physical and/ or sexual abuse and other forms of interpersonal violence. Throughout the paper, there is an emphasis on the importance of considering developmental factors. Finally, implications of the existing literature for future areas of research are addressed.
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