Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on February 23, 2005
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2005 30(5):443-448; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsi068
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Informant Discrepancy in Perceptions of Sickle Cell Disease Severity
Medical University of South Carolina
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mark Connelly, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, P.O. Box 250852, 165 Cannon Street, Room 310, Charleston, SC 29425. E-mail: connelma{at}musc.edu.
Received April 22, 2004; revisions received July 27, 2004; accepted October 14, 2004
Objectives To evaluate whether informants (children, caregivers, and physicians) differ in their perceptions of chronic disease severity and the extent to which these differences can be explained by objective indices of disease severity, and adjustment of the caregiver. Methods Participants were 58 children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 18 years diagnosed with sickle cell disease. Information on perceptions of disease severity, caregiver adjustment, and biological markers of disease severity was obtained at a routine clinic follow-up appointment. Results Analyses indicated significant differences in perceptions of disease severity. Psychological adjustment of the caregiver and biological indices of disease severity were significant predictors of these differences. Conclusion Implications for the association between chronic disease and adjustment are discussed.
Key words: sickle cell; chronic disease; child; disease severity; multiple informant assessment; adjustment.