Psychological, social and school implications of asthma: a comparison of Belgian French-speaking children having asthma with healthy children.

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to explore the psychosocial implications of asthma among Belgian French-speaking children. Ninety-nine parents of children having asthma (Mage=11.40, SD=2.35) and 102 parents of children without asthma (Mage=11.25, SD=.81) participated in the study. Parents filled in the Child Behaviour Checklist and a demographic questionnaire. Results showed that children having asthma were assessed by their parents as having more internalizing, social and attention problems and as having less competence in doing activities (e.g., sports, hobbies, jobs) than their healthy peers. Significant differences also appeared between genders for attention problems, anxiety/depression, activities, social and school competences, indicating that boys were more vulnerable to psychological and social difficulties than girls but they had better school competences than girls. Finally, results showed no difference for psychological, social, and school adjustment between children who controlled and partly controlled their asthma. These findings emphasize the importance of screening children who would be at risk for having psychosocial problems and developing multidisciplinary interventions for children with asthma and for their families.