The effects of growth hormone injection on children's physical, psychological, and school adjustment factors: comparison by duration.

Abstract

This study is a descriptive-comparative study to investigate the effects of growth hormone injection on Korean children’s physical, psychological and school adjustment factors. This study was conducted on 200 school-age children, and they were divided into two groups: 84 children with the growth hormone treatment duration of below one year and 116 children with the treatment duration of more than 1 year. In terms of the physical factors, there were significant differences in height (t=-8.91, p=0.001) and body weight (t=-5.45, p=0.001). In psychological factors, there were statistically significant differences in body image (t=4.76, p=0.001), optimism (t=-2.32, p=0.021), psychological well-being (t=-2.37, p=0.019), self-esteem (t=-3.32, p=0.001), daily hassles (t=3.12, p=0.002), and school adjustment (t=-2.24, p=0.027). This study has its significance as a fundamental study to develop nursing interventions to promote desirable social and emotional development of children with short stature by comparing the psychological changes of children who are receiving growth hormone treatment.