Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: The effect of strabismus on peer acceptance is one consideration in determining the timing of early surgical intervention. This study questioned the effect of strabismus on a young child’s selection of a playmate. Methods: Non–strabismic children aged 3–6 were photographed at 1m looking straight ahead and at targets 20, 40, & 60cm to the right & left. Photographs were altered to create a set of pictures for each child consisting of an aligned picture, and 20, 40, & 60 pd esotropia & exotropia. The pictures were arranged in 15 pairs. Each pair consisted of two different children (same gender & race), one aligned and one with a tropia of 20, 40, or 60 pd. A second set of 15 pairs was created using the same children, but the aligned children from set 1 were shown strabismic in set 2 and vice versa. 100 children aged 3–8 were asked to view the photographs from one of the two sets and were asked, "Which one of these kids do you want to play with" for each photo pair. Results: For each subject, Chi–squared analysis was used to determine if the presence of an eye–turn was a significant factor when choosing a playmate. 23 children showed evidence that eye turn influenced their choices (p < 0.07). Of these 23 children, 12 preferred the eye–turn and chose strabismic children as playmates, while the remaining 11 children were statistically significant for not selecting strabismic children as playmates. The influence of strabismus on a child’s choices could not be predicted by the age of the child (logistic regression). In addition, chi–squared analysis of the entire sample of subjects showed that the group as a whole did not make their decisions based on the magnitude or the direction of strabismus. Conclusions:Since only 11% of the children between the ages of 3–8 years in the sample consistently selected against strabismic children as playmates, the presence of an eye–turn does not appear to be a significant factor in peer acceptance and is not considered a significant factor in determining the timing of strabismus surgery in this age group.
Keywords: strabismus • esotropia and exotropia • strabismus: treatment