Summary
Children of mothers who had contracted rubella in early pregnancy in 1951–1952 showed a higher incidence of subnormal head circumference than did control children. They also showed a delayed functional development, as judged from the age at which they sat and/or stood by themselves. “School‐maturity” tests were performed in 449 children with histories of maternal rubella in the first five months of pregnancy and in 403 controls at 7 years of age. Of 78 children with histories of rubella in the second month of pregnancy, 26% were “school‐immature”, compared with 13% of the 403 controls. This difference was significant. No such differences were observed for the first‐, third‐, fourth‐ and fifth‐month rubella children, but for the third‐month group a tendency was noted. Of 120 second‐month rubella children and of 153 third‐month children, 13% and 11% respectively had a record of school entry postponement, compared with 3% of 629 controls. Of the 120 second‐month children, 30% were assigned by their teachers to the bottom third of the class, as against only 21% of the controls. These differences were significant. No such differences were demonstrable among the first‐, fourth‐ and fifth‐month rubella children, as compared with the controls. The results of this investigation have underlined the need for a psychometric study of a limited number of the children here reported. Such a study will be reported in the near future.
Two groups of 64 diabetic and 30 carefully selected and matched non-diabetic control children 4-17 years old were studied with regard to psychological and social adaptation. Four sets of psycho-social methods were used: (a) psychiatric assessment of the mental state, (b) evaluation of the social situation, (c) measurement of the intellectual capacity, and (d) a Rorschach test. A base-line study was done within 5 months after the onset of diabetes and a follow-up 3 years later with the same methods. The mental state was assessed with regard to 18 variables, and the Rorschach test utilized 12 variables. There were no significance differences as to mental state between diabetics and non-diabetics neither at base-line nor at follow-up. Within each group, however, the diabetics showed an increase with regard to symptoms of aggression while the non-diabetics showed a decrease in such symptoms. Diabetics with high or low glucosuria levels did not differ in this respect. When summarizing mental deviations from average in the two groups the diabetics showed more deviations both at base-line and at follow-up, and a tendency towards higher degrees of mental activity, emotional ability and social contact. In the Rorschach test the diabetics showed a higher level of anxiety concerning their own health than the non-diabetics, but there was a decrease in this variable over the 3-year period. However, in an attempt to summarize the degree of mental disturbance, as estimated in the Rorschach test, no significant differences were found between diabetics and non-diabetics. Nor were any significant differences found between the groups with regard to social problems or intellectual capacity. It is concluded that the few abnormal patterns of raction that were observed may well be explained by the traumatic experience of the onset of a serious chronic disorder such as diabetes, and that a relatively strict care given to diabetic children does not seem to disturb their own or their parents' coping ability or psycho-social adjustment. The strictness might even have a supportive effect.
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