Somatiske og psykologiske aspekter ved asthma bronchiale hos barn

Abstract

The article describes a correlational study of relations between allergic potential, clinical severity, asthma precipitant factors, and several psychosocial variables, i.e. the child's temperamental characteristics and psychopathology, psychopathology of the parents, and family interaction. The sample included 20 asthmatic children and their families. The study demonstrated no significant correlations between clinical severity and the psychosocial variables, but the sample included few severely asthmatic children. Allergic potential, when measured by immunoglobulin-E level, correlated positively with emotional and behavior problems in the child. Furthermore, there were positive correlations between emotional precipitant factors, allergy and clinical severity, and also between emotions, mechanical respiratory changes and exercise-induced asthma rated as precipitant factors. Possible explanations concerning the role of emotional activation in asthma are mentioned. Childhood asthma, psychosocial variables, allergy, precipitant factors.