694 EFFECTS OF FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FUNCTIONAL STATUS OF CHRONICALLY ILL CHILDREN AND THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT

Abstract

The extent to which children's psychological adjustment is effected by the presence of chronic illness is a subject of much controversy. Data obtained upon entry to a study of children with chronic illness show that among the 81 children ≥ 5 years there is little relationship between adjustment and some traditional morbidity measures such as days hospitalized and days in bed. There is, however, a relationship between the child's functional status (FS) and psychological adjustment (PA). While this relationship is not dramatic for the sample as a whole (tau-b=.23), it varies from moderately strong to nonexistent among subgroups defined by social, family, and demographic characteristics. A characteristic such as the family composition alters the relationship between FS and PA from tau-b=.89 for mothers and another adult to tau-b=.03 where both parents are present in the home. The relationship between FS and PA is minimal where the mothers or fathers are at least high school graduates, or when the mother is presently employed, or has social supports in her life. These variables may be important buffers of the impact of illness on the child's adjustment. Such interactional effects may help to explain current controversies over the existence and importance of the relationship between the child's chronic condition and adjustment.

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