ABSTRACT
Approximately one child in 10 experiences a chronic physical illness by age 15 (Pless, Roghmann, & Haggerty, 1972). In 1988 three million children in the United States were estimated to suffer from chronic illness (Schoenborn & Marano, 1988). Twelve percent to 13% of children with chronic illness in one study were found to have emotional problems (Rutter, Tizard, & Whitmore, 1970). In a population study of 3,000 children, Walker, Gortmaker, and Weitzman (1981) found that about 30% had a chronic illness, and that the children with a chronic illness were 2.5 times more likely to have behavioral and social problems than were the healthy children in the study. In another controlled, general population interview study of 3,294 children aged 4 to 16 years, Cadman, Boyle, Szatmari, and Offord (1987) found that children with both chronic medical conditions and associated disability had a threefold or more risk for psychiatric disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder I ADHDI, overanxious disorder, depression, conduct disorder) and were at considerable risk for social adjustment problems compared to their healthy peers. Children with chronic medical conditions but no disability had about a twofold increase in psychiatric disorders but not very much increased risk tbr social adjustment difficulties.
