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Effects of Hospitalization on Early Child Development

  • Chapter
Continuities and Discontinuities in Development

Part of the book series: Topics in Developmental Psychobiology ((TDP))

Abstract

Improved understanding of the psychological effects of pediatric hospitalizations requires a developmental perspective. Empirical studies suggest that children between 6 months and 4 years of age are at greater risk than older children for both short-term (Schaffer & Callender, 1959; Prugh, Straub, Sands, Kirschbaum, & Lenihan, 1953) and long-term negative consequences of hospitalization (Douglas, 1975; Quinton & Rutter, 1976). By the time most children reach 6 years of age they appear to be able to manage the experience of being admitted to the hospital with less difficulty, although some variability exists during the transitional period of 4 to 6 years. In fact, there is some evidence that children older than 6 years of age can learn to cope more effectively with the stresses related to physical illness and its treatment as a result of a sensitive and therapeutic hospital experience. This change in coping ability, which may reflect a shift in the child’s ability to process the experience of hospitalization, will be a primary focus of this chapter. In some sense, this shift reflects a discontinuity in development that can be conceptualized as the ending of an early period of heightened vulnerability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Jewish Hospital and Research Center, Denver, Colorado, 80206, USA

    David A. Mrazek

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  1. David A. Mrazek
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Robert N. Emde  & Robert J. Harmon  & 

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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York

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Mrazek, D.A. (1984). Effects of Hospitalization on Early Child Development. In: Emde, R.N., Harmon, R.J. (eds) Continuities and Discontinuities in Development. Topics in Developmental Psychobiology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2725-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2725-7_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9690-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2725-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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