Differences in Behavioral Perceptions Between Young Adult Burn Survivors and Cross-Informants

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the level of agreement, in terms of personal problems, between burn survivors and an informant with whom they have a close personal relationship. Participants in the study were 72 young adult burn survivors between the ages of 18 and 28 with a mean age of 20.9 +/- 2.6 years. There were 37 males and 35 females in the group. The mean total burn surface area was 55.34 +/- 19.9% with injuries occurring before the age of 18, a minimum of 2 years prior to the study with a mean of 14.3 +/- 4.9 years since burned. To assess this issue the participants completed The Young Adult Self-Report (YASR), and the informants completed The Young Adult Behavior Checklist (YABCL). In relationship to burn survivors, the informant group comprised 67% mothers, 3% fathers, and 30% domestic partners. Paired t-test and Pearson Correlations Coefficients were calculated to compare the differences and variance of the Total Problems Scale, Internalizing Scale and Externalizing Scale for the YABCL and YASR results. The family members of burn survivors reported more problems for their young adult relatives than did the informants of the reference population. In general, the YACBL scores were higher than and highly correlated to the YASR scores. Although there were not ethic differences in the YABCL and the YASR measures, the correlation between the YABCL and the YASR was excellent for Caucasian families but not good for Black and Hispanic families. This study supports concerns about the need for routine follow-up into adulthood for those individuals who were burned as children. This would seem to be especially critical for the female population.

Quality of Life of Young Adult Survivors of Pediatric Burns Using World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale II and Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief

“…In other studies, family members attributed more QOL problems for the survivor than the survivors themselves did. 38 Furthermore, since our population was predominantly Hispanic, it would be useful to consider QOL in cohorts with varying ethnicities to determine what other groups use to determine QOL.…”

Personality Disorders in Young Adult Survivors of Pediatric Burn Injury

“…Previous reports have described the Axis I diagnoses , psychological adjustment (Meyer et al, 2004), quality of life (Baker et al, 2008;, suicidal risk (L. , family environment (Rosenberg et al, 2007), and differences in behavioral perception (Russell et al, 2008) among the participants. The study was approved by the University of Texas Medical Branch Institutional Review Board and the sampling method has been previously reported (Meyer et al, 2004).…”

“…Where previously attention for psychological adjustment focused on the presence of major psychiatric disorders, it is clear that attention should also be paid to personality development and presence of personality disorders that can interfere with the adjustment and well being of burn trauma survivors. Baker, C., Rosenberg, M., Mossberg, K., Holzer, C., Blakeney, P., Meyer, W., et al (2008). Relationships between the Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)…”

Impact of Obesity on Body Image Dissatisfaction and Social Integration Difficulty in Adolescent and Young Adult Burn Injury Survivors

“…Specific behaviors encountered from their social environment include avoidance, staring, and unfriendly conduct 9-13 . Age 8,14 , time post-burn 8,15 , sex 8,16,17 , and injury severity 7,18 have been associated with body image satisfaction and social integration among burn injury survivors.…”