INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN PEDIATRIC CANCER-PATIENTS REACTIONS TO INVASIVE MEDICAL PROCEDURES - A REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS

Previous research on child distress in pediatric cancer has addressed the issue of habituation to invasive procedures using correlational me thodology. In addition, most studies have focused on the bone marrow a spiration (BMA); few have examined children's reactions to the lumbar puncture (LP) separately. The present investigation examined 1 3 pedia tric cancer patients over time as they experienced five BMAs or LPs. D irect observation of child behavior during procedures was employed to assess distress responses using a 12-category measure. Individual pati ents demonstrated a range of distress patterns. Only two children were observed to habituate to these procedures. The importance of individu al patient characteristics and differences in the execution of the pro cedures are discussed, as is the need for greater use of treatments fo r child distress.