Do children with primary nocturnal enuresis have clinically significant behavior problems?

Abstract

Objective: To determine if primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) is accompanied by significant behavioral comorbidity. Design: A survey design using a standardized behavioral rating scale. Setting: Behavioral pediatric clinics in the Midwest. Participants: Subjects with PNE (n=92) were selected from 122 consecutive referrals for enuresis. Criteria included age 5 years or older, PNE status, and wetting frequency of at least once per week. The clinical sample without PNE (n=92) was randomly selected from 429 consecutive referrals' to the same pediatric clinics, stratified for age and sex. The nonclinical sample (n=92) was randomly selected by strata from the standardization sample (N=614) of the behavioral checklist used in the study. Main Outcome Measure: The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI), a standardized parent report scale, was used to measure the degree of behavioral comorbidity. The ECBI yields 2 scores, Problem Intensity and Problem Number. Results: Results from 2 separate 3 (group) X 2 (sex) analyses of variance indicated a significant main effect for group on Problem Intensity and Problem Number (P .05) but were lower than the mean of the clinical sample (P