| Popis: |
The importance of the emotional needs of the child in the hospital, and especially of the child who is to be operated on, has been receiving more attention in recent years by nurses, pediatricians, surgeons, and psychiatrists. The fact that emotional trauma occurs is widely accepted. The definition of the term, however, and the causes and means of prevention of the condition are sometimes inadequately understood. For the purpose of this discussion, emotional trauma will be defined as the intensification of any feeling that may be deleterious to a satisfactory adjustment to life. Feelings that are likely to be involved in the hospital treatment of children are anxiety, suspiciousness, resentment, hostility, inadequacy, insecurity, and a desire to retaliate. From our study of the psychological aspects of hospitalization, anesthesia, and surgery in a group of children, certain conclusions seem justified concerning the nature, etiology, and prevention of emotional trauma associated with |
