Fact Sheets
The following fact sheets provide accessible information on the prevalence, etiology, consequences, and evidence-based psychological assessment and treatment of common pediatric conditions.
Fact Sheet : Adherence to Pediatric Medical Regimens for Chronic Disease Definition, Prevalence and Course The World Health Organization defines adherence as “the extent to which a person’s behavior –…
Fact Sheet: Atopic Dermatitis Atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common type of eczema, is a chronic skin condition characterized by dry inflamed skin with intense itch. AD pathogenesis involves genetic…
Fact Sheet: Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction as well as the presence of restricted and…
Fact Sheet: Cancer in Children and Adolescents Childhood cancers include various malignancies resulting from uncontrolled proliferation of cells in blood, bone, muscle, skin and the central nervous system (CNS). The…
Fact Sheet: Cardiovascular Disease in Children and Adolescents Cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents encompasses both congenital and acquired heart disease. The most common cardiovascular problem is congenital heart defects (CHD)…
Fact Sheet: Caregiver Wellbeing Background and Significance: An ethical imperative exists for pediatric psychologists to address the mental health needs of parents/caregivers (Kahhan & Junger, 2021) and the recognition of…
Fact Sheet: Child and Adolescent Obesity Obesity, a chronic medical disease, is defined as accumulation of excessive body adipose tissue stemming from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. Body…
Fact Sheet: Childhood Asthma Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by airway obstruction, inflammation, and hyper-responsiveness, yielding variable and recurring symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and…
Fact Sheet: Chronic Pain in Children and Adolescents Although definitions vary, chronic pain is typically characterized as pain that persists over a period of at least 3 months. Chronic pain…
Fact Sheet: Cleft Lip and/or Palate Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) is a congenital birth defect that occurs when there is a separation in the lip and/or palate. There is…
Fact Sheet: Complex Craniofacial Conditions Two broad categories of complex craniofacial conditions (CFC) are those that include premature closure of one or more cranial sutures (craniosynostosis); and those that occur…
Fact Sheet: Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, genetic disease that is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The CFTR gene causes…
Fact Sheet: Developmental Disabilities Developmental disability (DD) is an “umbrella term” for impairments in cognition, communication, hearing, vision, learning, mobility, self-care and/or behavior that are manifested prior to adulthood and…
Fact Sheet: Differences/Disorder of Sex Development The process of sex development, in which humans begin to develop male or female reproductive anatomy, starts at about six weeks after conception. Differences/disorders…
Fact Sheet: Encopresis in Children and Adolescents Encopresis is the voluntary or involuntary passage of stool in places other than toilets. To receive a diagnosis of encopresis, the child must …
Fact Sheet: Enuresis in Children and Adolescents Enuresis involves the repeated voiding of urine during the day or at night into bed or clothes. Usually this is involuntary, but occasionally…
Fact Sheet: Epilepsy in Children and Adolescents Epilepsy is a common neurological condition diagnosed by one of the following: At least two unprovoked (or reflex) seizures occurring over 24 hours…
Fact Sheet: Grief in Children and Adolescents Bereavement refers to the objective experience of losing a loved one by death, whereas grief refers to one’s subjective experience. In other words,…
Fact Sheet: Habit Disorders and Tics in Children and Adolescents The term “habit disorders” includes thumb sucking, nail biting, hair pulling and tics (such as shoulder, head and elbow jerks,…
Fact Sheet: Hemophilia in Children and Adolescents Hemophilia is a hereditary bleeding disorder caused by inadequate production of coagulation factors essential for effective blood clotting. Hemophilia is commonly inherited, but…
Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS in Children and Adolescents The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks vital cells in the immune system and is transferred through specific bodily fluids…
Fact Sheet: IgE-Mediated Food Allergies Food allergies are the result of the immune system production of Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in response to a specific food, resulting in an allergic…
Fact Sheet: Integrated Primary Care The American Psychological Association (APA) has identified the integration of psychologists into primary care as an important method to increase access to mental and behavioral…
Fact Sheet: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), previously called juvenile rheumatic arthritis (JRA), is a chronic rheumatic disease that involves acute and chronic tissue inflammation of the joints…
Fact Sheet: Palliative Care in children and adolescents Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) is an interdisciplinary approach that provides comprehensive physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care targeting the prevention and relief of…
Fact Sheet: Pediatric Burns The etiology of burns includes flame, scald, electrical, contact and chemical with varying depth and severity. A biopsychosocial model can be useful for conceptualization of the…
Fact Sheet: Pediatric Feeding Problems Pediatric Feeding Disorders have lacked a universally accepted definition or set of diagnostic criteria, and this has impeded research efforts and clinical advancements. Recently, an…
Fact Sheet: Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) refers to a group of diseases, namely Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), which cause inflammation in different portions…
Fact Sheet: Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Disorder Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS) with a clinical course involving repeated episodes of inflammation,…
Fact Sheet: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) during childhood or adolescence produces sudden, dramatic changes in physical abilities that can impact virtually every area of a…
Fact Sheet: Preterm Birth Preterm birth, or delivery of an infant at less than 37 weeks gestation, affects approximately one in every eight babies born in the United States. Prevalence…
Fact Sheet: Procedural Pain in Children and Adolescents Procedural pain refers to the pain that children experience during medical procedures such as immunizations and other injections, venipunctures, circumcision, bone narrow…
Fact Sheet: Sickle Cell Disease Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic, multisystem disease characterized by vascular injury that is caused by decreased oxygen and blood flow, shorter red blood…
Fact Sheet: Sleep Sleep is an essential part of growth and development for young children, with all aspects of functioning (physical, emotional, cognitive and social) negatively impacted by insufficient or…
Fact Sheet: Solid Organ Transplantation Transplantation has become more common for children with end-stage organ disease due to advances in immunosuppression. Given the shortage of available organs, the United Network…
Fact Sheet: Spina Bifida Prevalence and Course Spina bifida (SB) is a relatively common congenital birth defect that occurs in roughly 3 out of every 10,000 births in the United…
Fact Sheet: Transitioning to adult care Background and Significance Over 90% of children with special health care needs are surviving to adulthood and must transition from a pediatric to an…
Fact Sheet: Traumatic Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is diagnosed when a blow to the head or a penetrating head injury results in disruption of…
Fact Sheet: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Children and Adolescents Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is a lifelong autoimmune disorder of glucose metabolism that destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the…
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