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Goal-setting behavior of asthmatic, diabetic and healthy children

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Abstract

Goal-setting behavior and self-expectations of asthmatic children have been studied in relation to psychosomatic theories of asthmagenesis, but fathers' influence has been generally ignored and approriate control groups have been often lacking. The present study utilized a level of aspiration task and a measure of the family climate to evaluate 16 asthmatic children compared to 16 diabetic children, 16 healthy children who had asthmatic siblings, and 16 healthy children from families with no chronic illness. Overall, the data failed to support specificity theories of bronchial asthma. The presence of chronic childhood illness, rather than asthma per se, was associated with most of the significant variation between study groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, USA

    Jomary P. Hilliard PhD (Research Associate) & Gregory K. Fritz MD (Assistant Professor)

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, USA

    Gregory K. Fritz MD (Assistant Professor)

  3. Director of the Consultation-Liaison Service, Children's Hospital at Stanford, 520 Willow Road, 94304, Palo Alto, CA

    Gregory K. Fritz MD (Assistant Professor)

  4. Chief of the Allergy and Pulmonary Service, Children's Hospital at Stanford, 520 Willow Road, 94304, Palo Alto, CA

    Norman J. Lewiston MD (Assistant Professor)

Authors
  1. Jomary P. Hilliard PhD
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  2. Gregory K. Fritz MD
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  3. Norman J. Lewiston MD
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Hilliard, J.P., Fritz, G.K. & Lewiston, N.J. Goal-setting behavior of asthmatic, diabetic and healthy children. Child Psych Hum Dev 13, 35–47 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00709980

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