Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on May 19, 2005
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2006 31(5):460-468; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsj037
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Internalizing and Externalizing Problem Behavior in Children with Nocturnal and Diurnal Enuresis: A Five-Factor Model Perspective
1 Pediatric Uro/Nephrologic Centre, Ghent University Hospital, and 2 Department of Developmental, Personality & Social Psychology, Ghent University
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Eline Van Hoecke, MSc, 1K5Pediatric Uro /Nephrologic Centre, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: eline.vanhoecke{at}ugent.be.
Received June 10, 2004; revision received October 22, 2004, February 16, 2005 and April 24, 2005; accepted April 24, 2005
Objectives To describe personality traits, internalizing, and externalizing problems of 6- to 12-year-old children with nocturnal and diurnal enuresis, examining differences from healthy referents, and investigating the association between personality traits and problem behavior. Methods Eighty-five children with combined nocturnal and diurnal enuresis were compared with 56 children with nocturnal enuresis and 155 healthy children on personality characteristics and problem behavior. Results Post hoc analyses of multivariate analyses indicated that parents of children with combined nocturnal and diurnal enuresis reported on average lower conscientiousness and higher neuroticism scores in their children than parents of healthy children, although the magnitude of these differences was moderate. Considerable differences in mean scores were found for the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) total problem scale and moderate differences for internalizing, externalizing, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems in children with nocturnal and diurnal enuresis compared with healthy referents. Regression analyses across enuretic and healthy groups demonstrated that personality trait and problem behavior scales share substantial variance. Conclusion Moderate to substantially higher levels of problem behavior is demonstrated in children with nocturnal and diurnal enuresis, who also display slightly higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness scores.
Key words: behavior problems; children; enuresis; personality.