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Behavioral changes in recurrent otitis media children pre- and post-tympanostomy tube placement
Abstract
Although the full impact of recurrent otitis media (ROM) has not been clearly established, the literature suggests that the fluctuating and recurrent nature of hearing loss associated with ROM has a negative impact on the psychosociolinguistic development of the child. Tympanostomy tube insertion is a common treatment to restore normal hearing sensitivity and prevent reoccurrence. Little research investigating the impact of tubes on ROM children from a behavioral perspective (personality, socialization skills, communications skills, etc.) has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were significant changes in the behavior of ROM children pre- and post-tube insertion. The Walker Problem Behavior Identification Checklist (WPBIC) and the Behavioral Profile for Children with Recurrent Otitis Media (BPC) were utilized to measure behavioral changes in ROM children prior to tube insertion and eight weeks ($\pm$1 week) after insertion. The same instruments were administered to the otitis-free children with a pre- to post-time interval of eight weeks ($\pm$1 week). Eighty ROM children who had tubes inserted were randomly assigned into two experimental groups. Eighty otitis-free children, matched for age, sex, race, and income level comprised the two control groups. Two experimental and control groups were necessary to test for possible pretest sensitization effects upon the post-test. Using the Solomon four-group design, no sensitization effect was found. Thus, the post-test only groups were eliminated from further analyses, resulting in experimental and control groups (N = 40), receiving pre- and post-test measurements. Two-by-two split plot analyses of variance were used to determine the existence of significant differences. Based on these results, the following conclusions were warranted. There were significant differences pre- and post-test administration in the ROM children, but not in the otitis-free children. Initially, ROM children displayed more deviant behaviors than their otitis-free peers with an increase in positive behaviors post-tube insertion. Gender, type of ROM involvement overall, and type of surgical treatment (adenoidectomy or adenoidectomy/tonsillectomy in conjunction with tube insertion) were not related to the behavioral differences observed. Finally, the insertion of tubes appeared to have positively affected ROM children by reducing the quantity and quality of negative behaviors.
Subject Area
Speech therapy
Recommended Citation
Leising, Kathleen Jane, "Behavioral changes in recurrent otitis media children pre- and post-tympanostomy tube placement" (1988). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8914083.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8914083