PEDIATRICS Vol. 35 No. 4 April 1965, pp. 641-651
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sobel, R.
Right arrow Articles by Margolis, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sobel, R.
Right arrow Articles by Margolis, J. A.

REPETITIVE POISONING IN CHILDREN: A PSYCHOSOCIAL STUDY

Raymond Sobel M.D.1 and James A. Margolis M.D.1

1 Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington

The families of 20 poison repeaters, 19 single ingestors, and 13 controls were studied. Social class, religious affiliation, income, geographic setting, and family size do not seem to be correlated with repeated episodes of poisoning in children.

The present study indicates that repetitive poisoning in children is not related to accident proneness, pica, environmental hazard, or lack of parental supervision. Ingestion of poisons seems to be the result of purposeful behavior on the pant of the child. Correlated with this behavior, especially in the case of the poison repeater, are: hyperactivity, negativism and other behavioral problems of the child, limited parent-child relationship, marital tension, and a tense and distant family atmosphere.

The first ingestion may be the result of the child's negativism, imitation of the parent's pill-taking, or confusion with food and is rarely the result of chance alone. Subsequent ingestions seem to be inappropriate methods the child uses to gain more relatedness with his parents or to express anger or negativism.

The physician's role in poison prevention should be to help parents of preschool children establish a cautious but confident attitude toward childhood poisoning and to realize that childhood poisoning may indicate family psychopathology which may require treatment.

Submitted on May 22, 1964
Accepted on August 20, 1964