The relationship between age of asthma onset and
behavioral adjustment was analyzed
using data from a longitudinal prospective investigation of
150 children identified prenatally
as at genetic risk for developing asthma (the W. T. Grant
Asthma Risk Study). The
children's development and asthma status were monitored
regularly for 6 years. Mothers
were interviewed yearly using the Behavioral Screening
Questionnaire (BSQ). Children who
had an early onset of asthma (by 3 years of age) had
significantly more behavior problems
at age 4 than children who developed asthma later (between
3 and 6 years of age).
Furthermore, the early-onset group had significantly more
problems at age 6 than both
children who developed asthma later and children who
never developed asthma. Children
with early asthma onset were compared to children who
were asthma free on individual
problem items of the BSQ, revealing a profile of
behavior problems that included waking at
night, depressed mood, and some indication of increased
fearfulness. This profile is
consistent with an earlier report of behavior problems
among severely asthmatic preschool
children (Mrazek, Anderson, & Strunk, 1984), who
displayed the same internalizing
behavior problems on the BSQ. These results suggest that
early asthma onset may have
predictable negative influences on behavioral adjustment
over a wider range of asthma
severity than has previously been reported.
Abbreviations: BSQ: Behavioral Screening
Questionnaire.