Mental health problems and speech development in toddlers with physical illnesses

Abstract

Introduction. Mental health problems develop more and more frequently in children and adolescents. Children with physical illnesses are at a particular risk of developing associated mental health problems and it is important to study this association in order to detect and treat these problems on time. This study was aimed at determining whether there were differences in the presence of mental health problems and delayed speech development in children with physical illnesses between 18 and 36 months of age compared to the presence of these problems in healthy children. Material and Methods. The study was carried out as an observational cross-sectional study. It included 100 children, of both sexes, aged up to 3 years. The first group consisted of 50 children with physical illnesses that were hospitalized at the Institute for Child and Youth Health Care of Vojvodina, and the control group consisted of 50 healthy children of the same age who attended kindergarten ?Radosno detinjstvo? in Novi Sad. The instrument of the study was ?A checklist of child behavior for children aged 1.5 to 5 years?. The hypothesis was checked with t-test for independent samples. ?A survey of language development for children aged 18 to 35 months? was used for assessing the language development. The second part of the hypothesis was checked with chi-square test. Results. A statistically significant difference was detected in the following dimensions of the questionnaire: emotional reactivity, anxiety / depression, withdrawal, aggression, stress, internalization, externalization, and total problems. A statistically significant difference was also found in the area of language delay. Conclusion. It has been concluded that mental health problems, as well as the language delay, are more pronounced among the children with physical illnesses than in the control group of children.