PEDIATRIC COMPLIANCE AND THE ROLES OF DISTINCT TREATMENT CHARACTERISTICS, TREATMENT ATTITUDES, AND FAMILY STRESS - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

Much research and clinical practice derives from the assumption that t here is a set of psychological-social variables that commonly influenc e medical (non)compliance. This assumption may lead to overly general strategies for managing specific illnesses in children with chronic il lness. With this concern in mind, a study was made of health provider ratings of compliance, treatment attitudes, and illness-related family stress for three pediatric cohorts (N = 75, ages 8 to 20 years): boys with hemophilia (n = 31), sickle cell disease (n = 22), or asthma (n = 22). Between-group differences were found on compliance and treatmen t attitudes (p < .05), with patients with sickle cell demonstrating gr eater treatment cooperation than their counterparts and boys with hemo philia expressing more positive outlooks on medical advice and about h ealth outcomes (Newman-Keuls test, p < .05). Positive treatment attitu des were associated with specific compliance behaviors for boys with h emophilia (p < .045) but not for other groups.