The Longitudinal Study of Families as a Method of Research

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In the study of families over a period of time, growth and decline of the family as a biologic unit can be described, and family attitudes toward health and toward illness can be better understood. Late diagnosis of chronic illness is a problem difficult to cope with, and we have been prone to consider that it is in great part due to economic factors. However, the psychological barrier between knowledge of the presence of symptoms and procurement of a diagnosis is very real. Detailed analyses are made of incidence of chronic illnesses in various types of families in the Eastern Health District of Baltimore. Classification of families was by age of heads of families and presence or absence of chronic disease in the family at the onset of the 5 year study. Incidence of chronic illness increased as age of the head of the family increased. Psychoneurotic conditions were found to be increased by the presence of chronic diseases in other members of the family.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: