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Negative Effects of Asthma Can Be Countered With Personality changes

by Medindia Content Team on Feb 24 2006 8:32 PM

Daphne Koinis Mitchell, PhD, with the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center (BHCRC) and Brown Medical School studied the effect of asthma on children. She said that those who have high self-esteem and good problem-solving skills may be less likely to have their asthma symptoms interfere with school. These children inspite of facing the stress related to urban scenario and facing asthma symptoms were associated with fewer school absences, more participation in activities, and less missed sleep. The study was published in the Journal of School Health. This study was mainly conducted to help students with asthma improve their academic performance.

If not properly treated asthma can influence various activities and can lead to a negative impact on the children's ability to learn. The study participants are a group of urban, school-aged children and their mothers with asthma from minority backgrounds. It was identified that self-esteem and children's beliefs about their problem-solving abilities helped them to counter the negative effects of asthma and urban living.

Asthma can also be influenced by poverty and exposure to violence and is the most prevalent childhood chronic illnesses in the US among the children from urban, low socioeconomic and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Koinis Mitchell stresses the need for an alternative or a cure to decrease the prevalence of asthma among school going children as it is association with difficulties in children's psychosocial and academic functioning. Hence in conclusion it is imperative that the researchers identify factors that might contribute to optimal asthma-related, psychological, and school functioning. In the future the main aim of the health care providers should be to enhance children's self-esteem and problem-solving beliefs to help children who have asthma.


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