Jt. Pate et al., CHILDHOOD MEDICAL EXPERIENCE AND TEMPERAMENT AS PREDICTORS OF ADULT FUNCTIONING IN MEDICAL SITUATIONS, Children's health care, 25(4), 1996, pp. 281-298
The effects of childhood medical experiences and temperament on adults
' medical fear, pain, coping effectiveness, and avoidance of medical s
ituations were investigated. The Medical Experience Questionnaire, an
instrument designed for this study, and the Dimensions of Temperament
Scale-Revised (Windle & Lerner, 1986) were utilized. Participants were
147 young adults. Using correlational and hierarchical multiple regre
ssion analyses, results indicated that adults' medical fear was signif
icantly predicted by children having experienced more medical fear and
pain; by being more distractible; and by gender, with females being m
ore fearful. Adults' medical pain was significantly predicted by havin
g experienced more pain during childhood. Greater coping effectiveness
in adulthood was related to having coped better in childhood. Avoidan
ce of medical we as an adult was significantly predicted by being more
fearful in childhood and by having a higher activity level. Recommend
ations for treatment and future research are provided.