Personal space as a measure of a dying child's sense of isolation.

Used interpersonal distance measures to objectify the sense of isolation said to be present in a child with fatal illness as he nears death. When asked to place each of 4 significant figures (nurse, doctor, mother, father) at their usual place in a 3-dimensional hospital-room replica, 25 6-10 yr old leukemic children placed the figures at a distance significantly greater than did the matched control group of 25 chronically ill hospitalized children. Although the distance of placement increased with both groups in subsequent admissions, the leukemic children increased the distance significantly more than did the chronically ill, lending strong support to the hypothesis that the sense of isolation grows stronger as the child nears death. A final placement of preferred distance leads to the conclusion that the 6-10 yr old fatally ill child not only perceives a growing psychological distance from those around him but for whatever reason prefers it that way. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The child-abusing parent: A psychological review.

Review of professional opinions in the literature reveals that (a) the abusing parent was himself raised with some degree of deprivation, (b) the abusing parent brings to his role as parent mistaken notions of child rearing, (c) there is present in the parent a general defect in character structure allowing aggressive impulses to be expressed too freely, and (d) while socioeconomic factors might place added stresses on basic personality weakness, these stresses are not of themselves sufficient or necessary causes of abuse. A recent demographic survey is criticized in light of the foregoing data. (88 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SIOP Working Committee on psychosocial issues in pediatric oncology: guidelines for communication of the diagnosis

A 44-year-old man with a St. Jude mitral valve was admitted because of progressive pulmonary edema. He was diagnosed with prosthetic heart valve thrombosis (PHVT) based on the findings of "muffled" prosthetic valve clicks. Doppler echocardiographic evidence of severe mitral stenosis and transesophageal echocardiographic evidence of limited mitral valve motility. Because the patient hesitated to undergo our recommended surgical treatment, he was immediately treated with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (100 mg over 3 h) followed by heparinization. Two hours after the thrombolytic therapy, the prosthetic valve clicks became clearly audible and his congestive symptoms were dramatically improved. Follow-up echocardiography no longer-showed significant mitral valve obstruction. A transient cerebral ischemic attack occurred at the end of thrombolytic therapy but there were no neurologic sequalae. The patient, on warfarin therapy, was well at follow-up 8 months after discharge. Surgical intervention has long been the standard therapy for patients with PHVT. Our case experience suggests that thrombolytic therapy may be considered as an effective alternative to surgical intervention for selected patients with PHVT. In this report, we also review the current literature regarding the indications, effectiveness and safety of thrombolytic therapy in PHVT.     

The child with cancer: Patterns of communication and denial.

Results of a study with 16 6–10 yr olds with leukemia indicate that the level of family communication about the illness, as expressed in the mother's judgment of communication, was correlated with 3 of the 4 hypothesized responses (exhibited a nondefensive personal posture, expressed a long-range close relationship with the parents, and expressed a basic satisfaction with self) in the child. The study demonstrates the usefulness of 3 instruments (a scale of defensiveness, an interpersonal distance scale and the Family Relations Test) as effective tools in measuring the child's reactions to the illness. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dying child's awareness of death: A review.

A review of the professional opinions in the literature reveals both the honest concern of the authors for the parents, nurses, and physicians of the dying child and the lack of objective data on what the child actually knows about his illness or what his psychological reactions are to it. The result has been the accumulation of a set of contradictory attitudes often based on nothing more than the authors' personal reactions and unsubstantiated observations. 2 controlled studies directly measuring the child's concerns pointed to a very real awareness by a child as young as 6 yrs of the seriousness of his illness. Implications for designing future research in this area are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental personality factors in child abuse.

Studied whether abusing parents differ from nonabusing parents in personality variables by administering the Michigan Screening Profile of Parenting to 6 groups of mothers: (a) adjudicated abusers, (b) spouses of adjudicated abusers, (c) mothers convicted of child neglect, (d) nonabusing mothers from a college student population, (e) nonabusing mothers from a middle socioeconomic level, and (f) nonabusing mothers from a lower socioeconomic level. 107 Ss were studied, all of whom had at least one child under 5 yrs of age. Major differences occurred when comparison was made of 1 or more of the 1st 3 groups with 1 of the latter 3 groups. The groups differed significantly on 6 factor-analyzed cluster categories: (a) relationship to one's own parents, (b) tendency to becoming upset and angry, (c) tendency toward isolation and loneliness, (d) expectations of one's own children, (e) inability to separate parental and child feelings, and (f) fear of external threat and control. In all of the cases, the 1st 3 groups scored at levels of higher risk than did the latter 3 groups, whereas the abusers scored at the highest risk levels throughout. It is suggested that a therapist who helps a parent develop the ability to maintain equanimity under stress, by helping reduce deviations from the norm in characteristics related to abuse potential, is ultimately helping to reduce actual abusive behavior. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)