The Impact of Short Stature on the Children’s Psychology: An Examination of Child Psychology, Peer and Familial Relationships and Academic Performance Abdulmoein E Al-Agha * , Jammal HH, Alzahrani OA and Sherian KA King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Corresponding author: Al-Agha AE, Key Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Department of Pediatrics, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Tel: 0966505590459; 3; E- mail: aagha@kau.edu.sa Received date: Jan 27, 2016; Accepted date: Feb 29, 2016; Published date: Mar 7, 2016 Copyright: © 2016 Al-Agha AE, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Purpose: This study investigated the impact SS (short stature) on children’s psychology, peer and familial relationships and the academic performance. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative face-to-face survey of 656 males and female children aged 4-18 years. It was conducted from March 2015 to April 2015 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: There was a weak significant relationship between height and negative psychology of SS children. There was no relationship between SS children and negative peer relationships, familial relationships or academic performance Conclusion: This research found that there was no relationship between SS children and negative psychology, peer relationships, family relationships or academic performance. Keywords: Short stature; Psychology; Academic performance; Family relationships Introduction Short stature (SS) is defned as height more than two standard deviations below the mean for age and gender [1].SS could be a result of organic or non-organic causes. Organic causes include: endocrine abnormalities, bone lesions, intrauterine growth retardation, chromosomal abnormalities (Dawn syndrome, Russell-silver syndrome) or other causes. Non-organic causes include: familial short stature, malnutrition, constitutional delay of growth and adolescence [2]. Around 2% of all children present with SS. Boys tend to come to medical attention more frequently than girls. However, the percentage of girls with organic disease signifcantly exceeded that of boys. Diferences in height were more pronounced around the age of 9 years. Sex was not associated with severity of short stature [3]. Te research on children with SS shows mixed results regarding psychosocial problems. With some studies suggesting that psychosocial problems are related to SS while other studies do not fnd this relationship [4].Bullying due to SS is one of the most correlated risk factors to psychosocial stress in children [1]. IQ scores in children sufering from SS were not generally afected. An SS child with low socioeconomic status was a better predictor of underachievement [5]. However, some SS children have feelings of poor accomplishment. SS and Psychosocial Te research on children with SS shows mixed results regarding psychosocial problems. With some studies suggesting that psychosocial problems are related to SS while other studies do not fnd this relationship [4]. Bullying due to SS is one of the most correlated risk factors to psychosocial stress in children.1SS has been related to frequency of bullying, stigmatization and social isolation, which can lead to chronic psychosocial stress. Parents of SS children, compared to parents of children with normal height, report that their children are less socially competent and in general have more social problems. A German study found that SS children scored signifcantly lower on self-perception, social support from peers, and psychological well- being [1]. Although other studies suggest that SS children are dissatisfed with their height, measure by the body satisfaction index, this did not afect other areas of emotional wellbeing. SS children recorded more satisfaction on the self-perception profle than the control group. Interestingly, most children reported that they would like to be “average” or “quite tall” despite being in the control or SS group [6]. One study compared short statue children (6-11 years) with a control group. Te researchers found no diference between the groups on self- reported social support from parents, teachers, peers and friends. SS and Peers Many of SS children have reported peer rejection, being bullied and teased and this is hypothesised as a reason for inhibitive behaviour [4]. However, in other studies that compared SS children to normal height children and found no signifcant group diferences in terms of peer acceptance, social competence and self-perception [6]. Te peers of SS children described them as well accepted in class and better socially adjusted than average. However, teacher and parental accounts depicted SS children with poorer attention and more thought problems compared to the control group [8]. Al-Agha et al., J Preg Child Health 2016, 3:2 DOI: 10.4172/2376-127X.1000228 Research Article Open Access J Preg Child Health ISSN:2376-127X JPCH, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000228 Journal of Pregnancy and Child Health J o u r n a l o f P r e g n a n c y a n d C h i l d H e a l t h ISSN: 2376-127X