Abstract
In this study we compared the effects of parents' distraction versus reassurance on children's coping and distress during immunizations. Eighty-two parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to attention control, distraction, or reassurance conditions. The children were 3.8 to 5.9 years old, from lower to middle socioeconomic classes, who were reporting for preschool immunizations at a county health department. The dependent variables included measures of behavioral distress using the Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale, children's self-report of their fear, and parents' reports of their ability to help their child and of their own upset. It was hypothesized that children in the distraction group would be the least distressed, followed by the control group, and that children in the reassurance group would be the most distressed. Results generally support the hypotheses. Children in the distraction group showed the least amount of distress on several indexes. When compared to children in the control group, children in the reassurance group were restrained during a greater proportion of the immunization procedure. Three times as many children in the reassurance group required restraint, when compared to children in the distraction group. Children in the reassurance group also displayed more verbal fear than children in the control or distraction groups. Following training and prior to the immunizations, parents in the reassurance group were least upset and expected to be able to provide the greatest amount of help to their children. However, after the children's immunizations, parents in the reassurance group rated themselves as being more distressed than parents in either the distraction or the control groups.
Published Version
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