Stress Appraisals of Hospitalized School-Age Children

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of health status as acutely or chronically ill, gender, and trait anxiety on the stress of 82 hospitalized children ages 8 through 11. Two aspects of stress were examined: (a) the specific events appraised as stressful, and (b) the appraised stressfulness of the global event of hospitalization. Findings indicated that chronically ill children identified more intrusive events and acutely ill children identified more physical symptoms as stressful; children with high levels of trait anxiety were more likely to appraise hospitalization as stressful. Gender did not have a significant influence on stress.