PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF CHILDREN WITH SPINA-BIFIDA

It was the aim of the present prospective study to investigate the inf luence of age, sex, intellectual function, and school type as well as of hydrocephalus, the level of lesion, and of the degree of handicap o n the psychosocial adjustment of children with spina bifida. Seventy-f ive patients with spina bifida, aged 6 to 16 years were assessed conce rning their psychosocial adjustment and their intellectual function by use of standardized instruments. The findings were compared with thos e of nondisabled controls, matched for age and sex. Children with spin a bifida showed a tendency to be at an increased risk for psychosocial maladjustment. Influencing factors were age, sex, and the degree of h andicap. Twelve- to 16-year-old boys and girls displayed significant a djustment problems in specific areas in comparison with their controls . There was a tendency for children with spina bifida to be attending inappropriate school types according to their intellectual abilities. Perhaps the most striking finding of our study was that children with spina bifida who attended a school for disabled children, even though it might be an IQ-appropriate setting, had a higher rate of psychosoci al maladjustment than the disabled children in mainstream schools.