Anxiety responses of 5- to 11-year-old children during and after hospitalization.

The purpose of this study was to examine the anxiety responses of 5- to 11-year-old children (N = 52) during and after hospitalization from their perspective. Change in anxiety over time was examined, as was the relationship between children's anxiety and age, sex, length of hospitalization, previous admission, and parental anxiety. Children demonstrated a decrease in anxiety from admission to discharge, whereas anxiety remained fairly constant from discharge to posthospitalization. Younger children (5 to 7 years), boys, and children not previously admitted were more anxious and did not show a decrease in anxiety over time. Findings of this study have implications for practice and further research.