PSYCHIATRY
Effects of Household Burglary Children
on
Some
Suggestions for Coping
Bruce H. Axelrod, M.D.
~N
THE PAST TWO MONTHS in Comprehensive Care Clinic, we have
our seen
children in whom an episode of burglary has directly affected their clinical behavior. Although the incidence of burglary increased 70 per cent from 1966 to 197 1,1 to date no articles have appeared in the pediatric literature which have called attention to the potential implications of this event. two
Case
Reports
stroke her hair. He would often awake during the night and ask to sleep in his parents’ bed, which
allowed. After a few weeks, he began to have enuresis and displayed increased motor activity and decreased attention span. Previously, he had moved freely around the neighborhood, but he began to refuse to visit any playmates’ homes unless his parents accompanied him. For months, he refused to enter his room without parental accompaniment and rarely has played there alone to date. In addition, he has seen a &dquo;robber ghost&dquo; in every closet and has had
they
recurrent
Case 1
Billy is a 5%2-year-old white boy living in an upper-middle class suburb of Seattle. During the summer
of 1973, his home
was
the
scene
of
repeated burglaries and acts of vandalism, including the placing of sugar in the gas tank of his father’s car, breaking of windows, flooding of the living room, and, finally, flooding of his bedroom. A bicycle belonging to his father was the only object taken from the house, but the period of concern extended throughout the summer. Shortly after the first episode, Billy refused to go to sleep. He would cry when placed in his room while awake, and would fall asleep only
after his mother
sat on
his bed and allowed him to
Acting Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine; Director, Comprehensive Care Clinic, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, Wash. 98105. Correspondence to Bruce H. Axelrod, M.D., 908 Lincoln Avenue, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104.
nightmares.
It is interesting to note that he has never mentioned the incidents to anyone but his mother. The parents sought help for Billy after he began having some difficulty in kindergarten. As far as is known, Billy manifested no major
problems prior to these events. Case 2 Clarissa is
a
nine-year-old
juvenile diabetes mellitus,
which
black was
girl with diagnosed at
age three. She had been in good control until one day prior to admission to Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center, at which time the family returned from a vacation to find all of
Clarissa’s bedroom furniture, and her radio, bicycle, and clothing missing. Her two sisters also had had objects taken. That night, Clarissa had night terrors and expressed the fear that someone would re-enter the house and kill her. The following morning, she was found semicomatose and was hospitalized with a blood glucose level of 57 for a six-hour period of treatment and obser-
80
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vation. Since this time, she has refused to enter her bedroom. In addition, she will only sleep if a sibling is in bed with her (a pattern new to this family). Her mother reports that Clarissa frequently wanders about the house at night and crawls into bed with her. She has exhibited emotional lability, defiance, failure to perform age-appropriate tasks, refusal to cooperate with other siblings, whining, and been generally sad. She has been in school only one out of three weeks as a result of vague somatic complaints and erratic diabetic control, which has ranged from hypoglycemia to mild acidosis. The family is currently seeking new housing and is now receptive to counseling. Clarissa’s family has been unable to replace any of the missing items because of lack of money.
Comments The
preschool child is often emotionally potential for physical harm and loss of his favorite objects when a burglary occurs. Developmentally, this is a period of magical thinking, in which children are actively differentiating real from imaginary experiences. The child of this age often attempts to compensate for his feelings of insignificance and inadequacy by aggressive behavior, such as increased physical activity (hiking, throwing, running) and emotional lability. Night terrors, and fear of ghosts, gremlins, imaginary people, and &dquo;boogie men&dquo; who might harm him appear at this developmental stage. To have these fantasies confirmed by a burglary leaves many children with a sense of panic and helplessness. This may be expressed as severe regressed behavior, such as enuresis, nail biting, crying and clinging, temper tantrums, and sleep aware
of the
disturbances. Children with chronic medical problems may have exacerbation of symptoms. With Billy, the burglary resulted in sleep disturbances, regressive behavior (stroking mother’s hair and refusal to leave home and go about the neighborhood), enuresis, increased motor activity, and fear of &dquo;robber ghosts.&dquo; Having had no opportunity to work out his anxieties in play, either with playmates or therapeutically, he continued to manifest diffuse anxiety and had a &dquo;driven&dquo; quality to his behavior. Another family with a boy of similar age living on the same street had a burglary earlier in the year. In contrast to Billy, this
was able to talk freely about the event with friends and parents and work through his anxiety. He has had no major difficulties since. The child of middle years is capable of coping more rationally with the enormity of this intrusion, Unlike his preschool counterpart, he has achieved significantly greater mastery of the environment outside his family, has self-control, and better physical stature. He is able to feel greater sense of control over his destiny and, although frightened, is able to call upon his own resources for help. He may, thus, be able to take a baseball bat or’ some other weapon to bed with him in order to defend himself against further intruders. He may, however, find it more difficult to share his real fears than the preschooler and may mask them under a sense of bravado, particularly with his peers. Occasionally, decreased school performance, some sleep disturbance, and regressed behavior may be manifestations of this unresolved anxiety. Children of this age with chronic illness may display not only many of the behavioral changes noted above, but may have exacerbations of physical symptoms as well. Clarissa’s diabetic control has been erratic since the event, and the hypoglycemic event was the first of any significance for her. She has been
boy
The preschool child is often emotionally aware of the potential for physical harm and loss of his favorite objects when a
burglary
occurs.
unable to master her anxiety to any degree and has had sleep disturbances, irritability, school avoidance, and temper outbursts. Her mother is attempting to help diminish some of her fears,by looking for a new apartment and seeking professional counseling for herself and Clarissa. After a burglary, most adults are more concerned about the material loss, but often have behavioral changes also. Many feel that an uninvited &dquo;guest&dquo; in the home has been a violation of the sanctity of one’s home and one’s self. Night terrors, increased vigilance, (Continued on page 84)
81
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Effects of Household Burglary Children
on
Some
Suggestions for Coping
Bruce H. Axelrod, M.D.
~N
THE PAST TWO MONTHS in Comprehensive Care Clinic, we have
our seen
children in whom an episode of burglary has directly affected their clinical behavior. Although the incidence of burglary increased 70 per cent from 1966 to 197 1,1 to date no articles have appeared in the pediatric literature which have called attention to the potential implications of this event. two
Case
Reports
stroke her hair. He would often awake during the night and ask to sleep in his parents’ bed, which
allowed. After a few weeks, he began to have enuresis and displayed increased motor activity and decreased attention span. Previously, he had moved freely around the neighborhood, but he began to refuse to visit any playmates’ homes unless his parents accompanied him. For months, he refused to enter his room without parental accompaniment and rarely has played there alone to date. In addition, he has seen a &dquo;robber ghost&dquo; in every closet and has had
they
recurrent
Case 1
Billy is a 5%2-year-old white boy living in an upper-middle class suburb of Seattle. During the summer
of 1973, his home
was
the
scene
of
repeated burglaries and acts of vandalism, including the placing of sugar in the gas tank of his father’s car, breaking of windows, flooding of the living room, and, finally, flooding of his bedroom. A bicycle belonging to his father was the only object taken from the house, but the period of concern extended throughout the summer. Shortly after the first episode, Billy refused to go to sleep. He would cry when placed in his room while awake, and would fall asleep only
after his mother
sat on
his bed and allowed him to
Acting Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine; Director, Comprehensive Care Clinic, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, Wash. 98105. Correspondence to Bruce H. Axelrod, M.D., 908 Lincoln Avenue, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104.
nightmares.
It is interesting to note that he has never mentioned the incidents to anyone but his mother. The parents sought help for Billy after he began having some difficulty in kindergarten. As far as is known, Billy manifested no major
problems prior to these events. Case 2 Clarissa is
a
nine-year-old
juvenile diabetes mellitus,
which
black was
girl with diagnosed at
age three. She had been in good control until one day prior to admission to Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center, at which time the family returned from a vacation to find all of
Clarissa’s bedroom furniture, and her radio, bicycle, and clothing missing. Her two sisters also had had objects taken. That night, Clarissa had night terrors and expressed the fear that someone would re-enter the house and kill her. The following morning, she was found semicomatose and was hospitalized with a blood glucose level of 57 for a six-hour period of treatment and obser-
80
Downloaded from cpj.sagepub.com at MOUNT ALLISON UNIV on June 12, 2015
vation. Since this time, she has refused to enter her bedroom. In addition, she will only sleep if a sibling is in bed with her (a pattern new to this family). Her mother reports that Clarissa frequently wanders about the house at night and crawls into bed with her. She has exhibited emotional lability, defiance, failure to perform age-appropriate tasks, refusal to cooperate with other siblings, whining, and been generally sad. She has been in school only one out of three weeks as a result of vague somatic complaints and erratic diabetic control, which has ranged from hypoglycemia to mild acidosis. The family is currently seeking new housing and is now receptive to counseling. Clarissa’s family has been unable to replace any of the missing items because of lack of money.
Comments The
preschool child is often emotionally potential for physical harm and loss of his favorite objects when a burglary occurs. Developmentally, this is a period of magical thinking, in which children are actively differentiating real from imaginary experiences. The child of this age often attempts to compensate for his feelings of insignificance and inadequacy by aggressive behavior, such as increased physical activity (hiking, throwing, running) and emotional lability. Night terrors, and fear of ghosts, gremlins, imaginary people, and &dquo;boogie men&dquo; who might harm him appear at this developmental stage. To have these fantasies confirmed by a burglary leaves many children with a sense of panic and helplessness. This may be expressed as severe regressed behavior, such as enuresis, nail biting, crying and clinging, temper tantrums, and sleep aware
of the
disturbances. Children with chronic medical problems may have exacerbation of symptoms. With Billy, the burglary resulted in sleep disturbances, regressive behavior (stroking mother’s hair and refusal to leave home and go about the neighborhood), enuresis, increased motor activity, and fear of &dquo;robber ghosts.&dquo; Having had no opportunity to work out his anxieties in play, either with playmates or therapeutically, he continued to manifest diffuse anxiety and had a &dquo;driven&dquo; quality to his behavior. Another family with a boy of similar age living on the same street had a burglary earlier in the year. In contrast to Billy, this
was able to talk freely about the event with friends and parents and work through his anxiety. He has had no major difficulties since. The child of middle years is capable of coping more rationally with the enormity of this intrusion, Unlike his preschool counterpart, he has achieved significantly greater mastery of the environment outside his family, has self-control, and better physical stature. He is able to feel greater sense of control over his destiny and, although frightened, is able to call upon his own resources for help. He may, thus, be able to take a baseball bat or’ some other weapon to bed with him in order to defend himself against further intruders. He may, however, find it more difficult to share his real fears than the preschooler and may mask them under a sense of bravado, particularly with his peers. Occasionally, decreased school performance, some sleep disturbance, and regressed behavior may be manifestations of this unresolved anxiety. Children of this age with chronic illness may display not only many of the behavioral changes noted above, but may have exacerbations of physical symptoms as well. Clarissa’s diabetic control has been erratic since the event, and the hypoglycemic event was the first of any significance for her. She has been
boy
The preschool child is often emotionally aware of the potential for physical harm and loss of his favorite objects when a
burglary
occurs.
unable to master her anxiety to any degree and has had sleep disturbances, irritability, school avoidance, and temper outbursts. Her mother is attempting to help diminish some of her fears,by looking for a new apartment and seeking professional counseling for herself and Clarissa. After a burglary, most adults are more concerned about the material loss, but often have behavioral changes also. Many feel that an uninvited &dquo;guest&dquo; in the home has been a violation of the sanctity of one’s home and one’s self. Night terrors, increased vigilance, (Continued on page 84)
81
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