RECIPROCITY IN MOTHER-CHILD INTERACTION, CORRELATES OF ATTACHMENT, AND FAMILY ENVIRONMENT IN THREE-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE (NURSING, HEALTH PROMOTION).
Contributors: Wayne State University.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 163
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Estimates of the number of children born each year with congenital heart disease (CHD) range from 8 to 20 per 1,000 live births. Promotion of the health of this substantial number of children is a concern of nursing.

Rogers' and Newman's theoretical models provided a framework for conceptualizing this study of attachment in children with CHD. In the study, attachment was conceptualized as one developmental pattern central to promotion of the health of children. Further, promotion of child health was conceptualized as taking place within the family.

Thus, this study examined relationships among child-mother attachment, family environment, and CHD in 3-year-old children. Reciprocity in mother-child interaction, curiosity, conceptual perspective taking, and delay of gratification were considered measures of attachment. Family environment measures included family functioning and stimulation available to the child in the home.

Twenty-five healthy children and 25 children with CHD were assessed on the attachment variables through a series of play situations independently coded by two trained observers. Family environment was assessed with two questionnaires completed by the mother. All selected instruments had evidence of reliability and validity. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations, t-tests, and discriminant function analysis.

Results of the study indicated that, on the attachment measures, the healthy children demonstrated a higher level of individuation and a more sophisticated form of curiosity than the children with CHD. Specifically, the children with CHD appeared to be more passive and less willing to initiate activities with their mothers. They also did not engage in simultaneous manipulation of objects as frequently as the healthy children. No differences were found between the groups on the family environment measures.

A model for health promotion in 3-year-old children with CHD was proposed, based on the study results and the conceptual framework of the study. The proposed model lays the groundwork for the formulation of a broader nursing model for promoting the health of children with chronic illness. Continued research examining relationships between chronic illness and child development will help nursing achieve the goal of promoting the health of children and their families.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-01, Section: B, page: 0113.

Thesis (PH.D.)--WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, 1984.

School code: 0254.