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Life Events and Hospitalization in Children: A Comparison with a General Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Javad H. Kashani ,
Kay K. Hodges ,
John F. Simonds  and
Ernest Hilderbrand
Javad H. Kashani
Affiliation:
University of Missouri- Columbia, 803 Stadium Road, Columbia, MO 65201; Clinical Director of the Children's Services at Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center
Kay K. Hodges
Affiliation:
University of Missouri-Columbia; Clinical Director of Children's Outpatient at Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center
John F. Simonds
Affiliation:
University of Missouri-Columbia; Director of Residency Training in Child Psychiatry
Ernest Hilderbrand
Affiliation:
University of Missouri-Columbia
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Summary

This study compared life events in three groups: hospitalized psychiatric, hospitalized paediatric, and non-patient non-hospitalized children, all aged 7–12 years. The most common life event in each group respectively was moving to a new school district, hospitalization for physical illnesses, and outstanding personal achievement. The hospitalized children had a significantly greater number of life events and mean score of life events than that of the general population. The authors conclude that the study of life events alone is insufficient to infer a causal relationship between life events, onset of illness and hospitalization in children.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 139 , Issue 3 , September 1981 , pp. 221 - 225
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1981 

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