Abstract
To determine if children with growth retardation are at greater risk for academic and emotional problems than thoseof normal stature, we compared twenty-five children of normal intelligence with constitutional short stature or growth hormone deficiency to a control group with normal height matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status. On the Child Behavior Checklist, 44% of the short children scored in the 90th percentile or higher on the overall index of behavioral difficulty, a level typical of children referred for mental health services. Our patients had specific elevations on indices of somatic complaints, schizoidal tendencies, obsessive-compulsive traits and depression. They also had a disproportionate incidence of excessive clowning (45%), being teased (65%), unhappiness (48%), and underachievement (41%). Another striking finding was that the children had a high prevalence of grade retention, 28% having repeated at least one grade, in spite of having normal intelligence (mean full scale IQ = 105.3, S.D. 14.9). Furthermore, 30% of the subjects had a verbal IQ that was 20 or more points higher than the performance score, a discrepancy occurring in only 10% of the population. In conclusion, short children seem to be at increased risk for developing academic and emotional difficulties.
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Richman, R., Crouthamel, C., Post, E. et al. Identifying the academic and emotional difficulties associated with short stature. Pediatr Res 15, 1551 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198112000-00095
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198112000-00095