PSYCHOSOCIAL-ASPECTS AND MENTAL-HEALTH IN CHILDREN AFTER PERMANENT PACEMAKER IMPLANTATION

The present study was designed to evaluate the psychosocial status and the mental health of children receiving a permanent pacemaker during childhood. Nineteen children under the age of 19 years had a permanent pacemaker implanted. Contact was established to 15 of these patients, 7 girls and 8 boys, and they were given a child-psychiatric evaluatio n consisting of a semi-structured and a child-psychiatric interview. T he psychological interview used intelligence tests and the Draw-A-Pers on test as well as the Rorschach test. The patients had had their pace makers during an average of 6.7 years (range 3-14). Generally the psyc hological condition was strained in 7 families, in which psychiatric a nd social therapy had been necessary. The children's intelligence was within normal ranges, average IQ being 110 (range 80-135). The childre n had abnormal body image related to the pacemaker. Adults virtually i ncorporate the pacemaker in their body image without disturbance, but children who are forming their body image and identity, are influenced by having a pacemaker. This may give psychosocial implication.