Child and caregiver psychosocial functioning in pediatric immunodeficiency disorders

Background: Children with chronic illness have been found to be at an increased risk of behavioral and emotional difficulties. To date, children with pediatric immunodeficiency disorders (PIDDs) and their families have not been the focus of extensive published psychosocial research. Objective: To determine if children with PIDDs and their caregivers have altered psychosocial function and whether the severity of the PIDD was associated with such difficulties. Methods: Twenty children with PIDDs and 20 children with asthma were recruited for this study. Children and their caregivers completed various psychosocial questionnaire forms. Responses were compared with normative data for the appropriate measure and with other variables. Results: Higher frequencies of children with PIDDs were found to have a number of elevated psychosocial concerns when contrasted with normative data, particularly from parent report. These concerns included depression, anxiety, somatization, social withdrawal, and social skills. The severity of the PIDDs was significantly associated with a number of behavioral adjustment issues, including receiving psychiatric diagnoses and special education services. Although children with PIDDs had significantly more psychiatric diagnoses than did asthmatic children, these groups did not differ significantly on questionnaire scores regarding child or caregiver psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions: Children with PIDDs have significant behavioral problems. Children receiving intravenous immunoglobulin or immunomodulatory treatments were reported to have more problems than children not receiving them. This study highlights the need for further research in psychosocial functioning of children with PIDDs in an effort to develop interventions to promote their overall adjustment.