The Impact of Stress and Temperament on Medical Utilization by School-Age Children

A child's temperament and the stressful life events he or sheexperiences influence a child's health. Efforts to understandstress and illness processes have suggested that a range ofsociodemographic andpsychosocial variables influence the degreeto which a child uses medical services. In this sample of 140families in a health maintenance organization, medical utilizationby school-age children was related to age, family size, stress,and temperament. Fewer relationships were evident in bivariatecorrelational analyses than in multiple regression analyseswhich allowed for simultaneous consideration of the variables.Two highly statistically significant multiple regression modelseach accounted for 20% of the variance in medical utilizationover a 4-yearperiod. Evidence for independent main effects aswell as mediating or interacting effects of stress and temperamentdimensions of mood and distractibility was generated. healthcare providers and health policy planners efforts can be informedby research which increasingly articulates the relationshipsamong variables influencing the use of medical services.