CHRONIC ILLNESS IN LEBANESE PRESCHOOLERS - IMPACT OF ILLNESS AND CHILD TEMPERAMENT ON THE FAMILY

The impact on their families of chronic illness in young Lebanese chil dren and the relationship between such impact and perceived temperamen t of the child were assessed. The effect was greater in families of ch ildren with leukemia than in families of children with congenital hear t defects. Chronically ill children were rated as more persistent/unst oppable, difficult, and irregular, and as less adaptable than were hea lthy children. Culturally determined perceptions of child temperament were examined with regard to differential impact of illness on the fam ily.