Impact of Congenital Heart Disease on School Adjustment in Elementary School Aged Children

Abstract

Congenital heart disease or congenital heart defect (CHD) is an abnormality of the heart that develops before birth (American Heart Association, 2018). While much is known about how children are physically affected, less is known about the psychological impacts of CHD. In particular, little is known about school adjustment or the process of adapting to the role of a student and to various aspects of the school environment, while failure to adjust can cause academic and social-emotional problems (Lakhani, Jain, & Chandel, 2017). This review aims to investigate how and to what extent having CHD affects school adjustment in elementary school aged children (grades 1-5) (a group oftentimes overlooked as insignificant) and if the severity of CHD in elementary-aged children impacts their ability to adjust in schools. By reviewing literal and studies published in the past 50 years, the review reaches the conclusion that CHD does have negative effects on school adjustment and the severity of CHD positively correlates with difficulty to adjust. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the current studies regarding children with CHD and their relationship to different aspects of school and the school environment as well as propose a study that is multi-site, multi-informant, and multi-method. The result of this review has compelling clinical and theoretical significance, benefiting clinicians and practitioners, teachers and educators, and researchers by bridging the gap between existing and unknown knowledge of elementary-aged children with CHD and their school adjustment.