Stauber T et al. (2007) Cognitive-behavioral stress management training for boys with functional urinary incontinence. J Pediatr Urol 3: 276–281

Functional urinary incontinence is a common disorder among children and adolescents and has a negative effect on quality of life. Training, involving behavioral, physical and cognitive elements, is now a popular method of treatment. Stauber and colleagues assessed the long-term efficacy of a patient education program which included cognitive-behavioural stress management training.

The study included 25 boys, aged between 8 and 12 years, who presented with urinary incontinence; 10 of these were assigned to the control group and 15 to the intervention group. The boys in the intervention group were educated with an emphasis on cognitive-behavioral stress management and coping skills and the boys in the control group received basic education without cognitive-behavioral training. The long- and short-term efficacy of the program, ability to cope and quality of life 6 months after commencing the program were investigated.

In both groups, 6 months after the start of the program, day-time wetting decreased and the ability to cope with common stressors increased, and night-time wetting decreased significantly in the intervention group only. The boys in the intervention group also experienced improved self-esteem and coping with illness-related stressors.

The authors conclude that children with low self-esteem and difficulty coping with illness-related stress would benefit from stress management training as part of their patient education behavioral program; however, given the small size of this study, further studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.