Life Events and Hospitalization in Children: A Comparison with a General Population

Abstract

Summary: This study compared life events in three groups: hospitalized psychiatric, hospitalized paediatric, and non-patient non-hospitalized children, all aged 7–12 years. The most common life event in each group respectively was moving to a new school district, hospitalization for physical illnesses, and outstanding personal achievement. The hospitalized children had a significantly greater number of life events and mean score of life events than that of the general population. The authors conclude that the study of life events alone is insufficient to infer a causal relationship between life events, onset of illness and hospitalization in children.