In recent years, considerable professional attention has centered on the
behavioral aspects of various childhood illnesses and injuries. Indeed,
child health psychology has grown exponentially over the past decade.
One index of this growth is found in the number of texts that have
recently appeared in the area (Gross & Drabman, 1990; Karoly, 1988;
Krasnegor, Arasteh, & Cataldo, 1986; Levine, Carey, Crocker, & Gross,
1982; Routh, 1988; Russo & Varni, 1982; Tuma, 1982; Varni, 1983). In
general, these texts provide summaries of the psychological literature
across a variety of established (e.g., oncology) and emerging
(psychoneuroimmunology) areas of child health. Until recently, many
books on the psychological aspects of pediatric health provided no or
minimal information about the psychosocial plight of child burn victims.
In some instances, pediatric burns might be men- tioned parenthetically
as another example of a population for which behavioral treatment
procedures (e. g., pain management) may be of value. In part, the
relative inattention devoted to this population may be related to the
perception that the literature in this area is sketchy and charac-
terized by significant methodological and substantive shortcomings. In
many instances, this perception is largely justified. However, it is
also the case that the pediatric burn literature has evolved
considerably over the past decade and that the incidence of, and
morbidity associated, with severe burn injuries mandates immediate and
increased attention by mental health professionals.
