Perceptions of Healthy Children Toward Peers With a Chronic Condition

Perceptions of children with chronic illness may influence their peer relationships. This study examined the impact of illness visibility (i.e., an illness characteristic visible to other people) and medical explanation (i.e., a condition with a documented medical cause) on peer perceptions. Fifty healthy children (33 girls and 17 boys) aged 8 to 12 years (M = 9.34, SD = 1.26) were presented with vignettes describing hypothetical children with a visible-medically explained, non-visible-non-medically explained, visible-non-medically explained, or non-visible-medically explained condition. Perceptions of the hypothetical peer along affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions were assessed. Children with visible, non-medically explained conditions were perceived more negatively, suggesting that these children may be at risk for peer difficulties.