Children's recall of medical experiences: The impact of stress

Objective: The study compared children's reports of two medical events, to assess the effects of the type of event on children's recall. Additionally, the study examined the effect of props on children's event reports. Method: Twenty children between the ages of 37 and 67 months were interview ed following either a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) or a pediatric assess ment (PA) at a hospital. Interviews were conducted between 6 and 8 days aft er the event and included a doll and prop items. Results: Ratings of stress were significantly higher for children who under went the VCUG than those who underwent the PA. Children who experienced the VCUG procedure reported more correct information than the children who exp erienced the PA. Age was correlated with the total amount of correct inform ation reported. Stress levels were correlated with both errors and accuracy of information. Conclusions: Children who experienced a stressful medical procedure remembe red more than children who experienced a neutral medical event, although th is increase in amount recalled was at the expense of accuracy. These findin gs suggest that stress impacts negatively on recall; however, the unique an d structured nature of the VCUG procedure compared to the PA, and the famil iarity of the PA prop items to the children who experienced the VCUG proced ure, may also have contributed to differences in recall of the two events. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.