The Psychosocial Functioning of Children with Chronic Health Conditions: A Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Chronic health conditions are highly prevalent among childhood populations and lead to restrictions in everyday life. Previous research indicates that children and youth with a chronic health condition are at an elevated risk of psychosocial difficulties, including mental illness and social exclusion, compared to typically developing populations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the impact of chronic health conditions on psychosocial factors during childhood by comparing the psychosocial functioning of children with chronic health conditions and children without chronic illnesses using a meta-analysis. Specifically, three elements of psychosocial functioning were examined, (a) social-emotional functioning, (b) behavioural functioning, and (c) mental health. Comparisons were also analyzed across parent-reported and child-reported data. Studies were included in this meta-analysis if they involved a quantitative analysis comparing the psychosocial functioning of children with chronic health conditions to children without chronic health conditions, using either self-report or parent-report measures. A total of 64 studies met the inclusion criteria, allowing for 113 comparisons across 47 358 participants. Weighted mean effect sizes were used to compare children with chronic health conditions and the comparison group across social-emotional functioning, behavioural functioning, and mental health for each report type. Small to medium effect sizes were found across social-emotional functioning, behavioural functioning, and mental health, and reporter type. It was concluded that children with chronic health conditions likely do experience more psychosocial difficulties than their peers without chronic illnesses and that it is important to consider the perspectives of children and their parents regarding children’s psychosocial functioning.