Body image, mood and quality of life in young people burned in childhood
Abstract
Little is known about how young people who survived burn injuries as children
cope when they reach adolescence. This study looked at the body image, mood
and quality of life of a group of young people who had burn injuries as children,
and a group of young people who had not had these injuries. It was
hypothesised that there would be no difference in outcome between the two
groups. The study also looked at the relationship between body image, mood
and quality of life. The participants were 32 young burn survivors recruited from
hospital records of a regional burns unit, and three burned children's clubs. The
control group were 41 young people from a comprehensive school. The overall
mean age across both groups was 15.24 years, ranging from 11 to 19 years.
The mean size of burn in this study is 21.93% total body surface area, ranging
from 1 to 63%. The burn survivors completed the Body Esteem Scale (BES),
the Satisfaction With Appearance Scale (SWAP), the Beck Depression
Inventory-11( BDI-11),and the Youth Quality of Life Questionnaire (YOOL). The
school sample completed all questionnaires with the exception of the SWAP.
Burn survivors reported significantly more positive evaluations of how others
view their appearance, more positive weight satisfaction and a higher quality of
life than the school sample. They reported a similar mood to the school sample.
Strong relationships were found between body image, mood and quality of life.
The data suggest that young burn survivors may be coping well in comparison to
their peers, and in some areas may be coping better, in spite of living with the
physical, psychological and social consequences of a burn injury.
Publication date
2005Published version
https://doi.org/10.18745/th.14190https://doi.org/10.18745/th.14190