The Psychological Adjustment of Children with Asthma: Study of Associated Variables

Lima, Ligia; Lemos, Marina; Guerra, Marina

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/32835

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
artigos afiliados-137.pdf		289.63 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Lima, Ligia

Lemos, Marina

Guerra, Marina

Abstract(s)

As part of a larger research project aimed to understand the impact of asthma in the psychological adjustment of children, this study focuses in the identification of factors associated with this process. The sample of this study consisted of 89 children, aged 8 to 12 with physician diagnosed asthma. To assess children’s adjustment, the Portuguese versions of the following instruments were used: School-age Temperament Inventory (McClowry, 1995) Schoolagers Coping Strategies Inventory (Ryan-Wenger, 1990); Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory – PedsQL (Varni, Seid & Kurtin, 2001); The Self-perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach,1991); Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliot, 1990). The results revealed that negative reactivity predicts the level of anxiety/depression, task persistence and perceived coping efficacy predicts social skills and that self-esteem is a significant predictor of the perceived quality of life. A significant proportion of shared variance was also found what seems to confirm the existence of multi-determination in the process of adjustment. The main conclusion is that two dimensions of temperament (negative reactivity and task persistence), as well as perceived coping efficacy and self-esteem, play a significant role in influencing the psychological adjustment of children with asthma.

Como parte de un proyecto de investigación más extenso cuyo objetivo es comprender el impacto del Asma en el ajuste psicológico de los niños, este estudio se centra en la identificación de los factores asociados a este proceso. La muestra de este estudio incluyó a 89 niños con edades comprendidas entre los 8 y 12 años y con diagnóstico médico de asma. Para medir el ajuste de los niños se utilizaron versiones en portugués de los siguientes instrumentos: School-age Temperament Inventory (McClowry, 1995) Schoolagers Coping Strategies Inventory (Ryan-Wenger, 1990) ; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory – PedsQL (Varni, Seid & Kurtin, 2001; The Self-perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach,1991); Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliot, 1990). Los resultados revelaron que la reactividad negativa predice el nivel de ansiedad/depresión , la persistencia de tarea y la eficacia de afrontamiento percibida predicen habilidades sociales y que la autoestima es un predictor significativo de la calidad de vida percibida. Se encontró también una proporción significativa de la varianza compartida lo que confirma la existencia de multi determinación en el proceso de ajuste. La conclusión principal es que dos dimensiones de temperamento (reactividad negativa y persistencia en la tarea), así como la eficacia de enfrentamiento percibida y la autoestima, juegan un papel significativo en el ajuste psicológico de los niños con asma. Palabras clave: asma, ajuste psicológico, correlatos.