Emotional competence and quality of life in pediatric asthma : direct and indirect effects
(2011)
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- (en) Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, which is now the most common chronic illness in childhood and adolescence. In Belgium, the prevalence of asthma symptoms is around 7 % in 6-7 years old children and around 12 % in 13-14 years old adolescents. In addition to physical symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath, pediatric asthma has also been associated with an impaired quality of life (QOL). However, some studies showed that children having asthma did not have a worse QOL than healthy children. Such data suggest that individual differences could participate in the prediction of the QOL of children with asthma. In the present dissertation, we mainly focused on a particular predictive psychological factor, namely emotional competence. Emotional competence consists of individual differences in the way people identify, express, understand, analyze, regulate, and use their emotions and others’ emotions. Participants were 90 children aged from 8 to 16, having controlled and partly controlled asthma, and undergoing everyday treatment. They were invited to complete a set of questionnaires after their consultation in the pediatric department of the University Hospital of Mont-Godinne. Results showed that some emotional competences, particularly a greater ability to express emotions and a reduced attention to bodily signals of emotions, were related to the QOL of children with asthma through direct and indirect pathways. These findings emphasize the importance of screening emotional competence in children with asthma and the importance of developing and using multidisciplinary interventions for them.
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Lahaye, M. (2011). Emotional competence and quality of life in pediatric asthma : direct and indirect effects. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/155612