You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT ARCHIVES
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 150 No. 10, October 1996 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Archives
  •  Online Features
  ARTICLES
 This Article
 •References
 •Full text PDF
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citation map
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in this journal
 Social Bookmarking
  Add to CiteULike Add to Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Add to Digg Add to Reddit Add to Technorati Add to Twitter What's this?

Family Life 1 Year After Infantile Colic

Hannele Räihä, PsychLic; Liisa Lehtonen, MD; Tapio Korhonen, PhD; Heikki Korvenranta, MD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150(10):1032-1036.


Abstract

Objective
To determine the persistence of family psychological characteristics associated with infantile colic.

Design
A 1-year follow-up survey of families with colicky infants was carried out. The family interview was used to evaluate the psychological factors of colicky and control families.

Participants
A total of 59 families with a colicky infant and 58 control families were enrolled in the initial evaluation in the population-based study. On the basis of a structured diary of the infant's crying, filled in by the parents, 3 groups of families were formed: severe colic group (n=36), moderate colic group (n=23), and control group (n=58). The families were interviewed when the infants were 2 and 12 months old. The Beavers-Timberlawn Family Evaluation Scale and the Oulu Family Assessment Scale were used. Thirty-two families (89%) from the severe colic group, 17 (74%) from the moderate colic group, and 49 (84%) from the control group participated in the 1-year assessment.

Results
At the 1-year assessment, the structural profile of the families did not differ between the groups. However, families in the severe colic group had more difficulties in communication, more unresolved conflicts, more dissatisfaction, and greater lack of empathy than families in the other groups. Furthermore, there was less flexibility in both colic groups than in the control group. During the follow-up period, coalition between parents in the moderate colic group became stronger compared with the first assessment, and the atmosphere improved significantly in all 3 study groups. However, the amount of empathy decreased in the severe colic group.

Conclusions
Our study shows that certain family characteristics associated with severe infantile colic persist. Families in the moderate colic group coped nearly as well as families in the control group. The family mood had improved a lot in all families when the infant was 1 year old.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150:1032-1036



Author Affiliations

From the Department of Psychology, University of Turku (Ms Räihä and Dr Korhonen), and Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital (Drs Lehtonen and Korvenranta), Turku, Finland.



Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Maternal Smoking and Infantile Gastrointestinal Dysregulation: The Case of Colic
Shenassa and Brown
Pediatrics 2004;114:e497-e505.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Infantile colic: a review
Leung and Lemay
The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 2004;124:162-166.
ABSTRACT  

Sequelae of Infant Colic: Evidence of Transient Infant Distress and Absence of Lasting Effects on Maternal Mental Health
Clifford et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2002;156:1183-1188.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Infant Colic: Empirical Evidence of the Absence of an Association With Source of Early Infant Nutrition
Clifford et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2002;156:1123-1128.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Excessive Infant Crying: The Impact of Varying Definitions
Reijneveld et al.
Pediatrics 2001;108:893-897.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Infantile Colic: Crying Time Reduction With a Whey Hydrolysate: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Lucassen et al.
Pediatrics 2000;106:1349-1354.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Infant Massage Compared With Crib Vibrator in the Treatment of Colicky Infants
Huhtala et al.
Pediatrics 2000;105:84e-84.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 1996 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.