INFANTILE COLIC - CHILD AND FAMILY 3 YEARS LATER

Objective. To assess differences in family functioning or child-rearin g attitudes within families with previously colicky infants and to ass ess whether the children differed in their behavior, development, or f requency of allergies. Study Design. A controlled, prospective study w ith infants (3 months to 3 years of age) and their families. Participa nts. Three hundred thirty-eight infants with and 866 infants without e xhibited colic and their families. Methods. Questionnaires to mothers and nurses regarding infantile colic (3 months of age); questionnaires to mothers, fathers, and nurses regarding interactions within the fam ily, parents' satisfaction with daily life, child caring, child behavi or, and development (3 years old); the Denver Developmental Screening Test (parents filled out at home during the whole 3 years of infant de velopment); the Achenbach Behavior Checklist for 2-to 3-year-old child ren (the 3-year visit at a well baby clinic). Results. The families of previously colicky infants demonstrated more dissatisfaction with the arrangements of daily family responsibilities and with the amount of both leisure time and shared activities. The children in the colic gro up had more sleeping problems and more frequent temper tantrums (at 3 years of age) than the control group. Conclusions. The families with c olicky infants had more distress 3 years later. Families with colicky infants should be provided practical support in improving daily family functioning and child rearing. In addition, underlying problems in fa mily relationships should be managed appropriately.