![]() And the good news is that there are lots of things you can think and do to help make things better if homesickness bothers you.” It means there are lots of things about home you love. Young people should be told, “Almost everyone misses something about home when they are away. 28, 42, 43 By contrast, feeling forced to leave home without input into the decision often increases homesickness intensity. Taking part in even the smallest decisions will increase perceptions of control. This is easier for a stay at summer camp than it is for a hospitalization, but even the latter can include children in the planning stages. Involve children (to the extent possible) in the decision to spend time away from home. ![]() There seem to be no gender differences in the prevalence or intensity of homesickness, 9, 22 nor are there cultural differences in the way individuals and researchers define the term “homesickness.” 21, 23 21, 22 Prevalence rates measured while the subject was in the new environment were similar for children at summer camp 5 and hospitalized children, 11 with younger children being at greater risk. In studies in which researchers measured homesickness at the time the individual was in the new environment, a prevalence of 83% to 95% has been reported. 12 Because nearly all homesickness researchers have relied on retrospective self-reports, these wide-ranging prevalence estimates also reflect variation in people’s recollection of bouts of homesickness. For example, prevalence of homesickness among adolescent boarding-school students is estimated to range from 16% to 91%. Prevalence estimates of homesickness vary widely depending on how homesickness is defined, the population under study, the circumstances of the separation, and the type of measurement. 9, 10 Homesickness may also be comorbid with other behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and physical problems that warrant clinical attention. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish homesickness from all other kinds of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, or adjustment disorders as well as from separation distress that young people may feel when caregivers leave home (eg, for work, military service, divorce, incarceration). 7, 8 The defining feature of homesickness is recurrent cognitions that are focused on home (eg, house, loved ones, homeland, home cooking, returning home), and the precipitating stressor is always an anticipated or actual separation from home. ![]() According to the taxonomy of the American Psychiatric Association, severe homesickness may be best classified as adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood (diagnostic code 309.28). Homesickness is defined as distress and functional impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home and attachment objects such as parents. ![]()
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