Abstract
Conventional wisdom has long suggested that a number of acute psychological problems may be encountered by burn-injured youth (Noyes, Andreasen, & Hartford, 1971), but the research in this area has been limited by small and sometimes biased samples, infrequent inclusion of comparison samples, and a wide range of dependent measures that vary in reliability and validity (Tarnowski, Rasnake, Gavaghan-Jones, & Smith, 1991). Simply describing the problems observed may be insufficient for fully understanding the phenomenon, particularly when this understanding is needed to develop an appropriate intervention. A given behavior problem may result from a variety of different factors, and failure to adequately assess the context, beyond the immediate burn experience, may lead to the selection of an ineffective treatment. Therefore, we will identify factors that may influence our understanding and assessment of children’s acute reactions to burns and burn therapy, reviewing the available literature on the occurrence of acute problems and treatment alternatives. We will then describe a strategy for developing prevention interventions with this population. For purposes of this chapter, we will focus on burns occurring in children and adolescents that require hospitalization.