Psychological functioning in boys of short stature: effects of different levels of growth hormone secretion

Abstract

Aim: To examine the relationship between growth hormone (GH) and psychological functioning, especially self-perception and well-being, in 60 prepubertal boys of short stature with a wide range of GH levels.

Methods: A comparison was made of the well-being and self-perception of children with GH insufficiency, children with idiopathic short stature (ISS), a normative sample and healthy boys with normal stature.

Results: Children with GH insufficiency had a more negative perception of their own physical appearance than the normative sample. They perceived themselves as more alert but also more inhibited than both the children with ISS and the healthy boys with normal stature. In comparison with the healthy boys with normal stature they perceived themselves as having more stability. The parents of the boys with GH insufficiency also perceived their children as being more stable compared with how the parents of boys with ISS perceived their children. To elucidate the effects of GH on psychological functioning a multiple regression analysis was performed.

Conclusion: The lower the levels of GH the more inhibited were the boys of short stature, as perceived both by themselves and by their parents. The boys with GH insufficiency had a more negative perception of their physical appearance than the normative sample.