Volume 31, Issue 1 , Pages 125-131, January 1992
Massage Reduces Anxiety in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Patients
Abstract
A 30-minute back massage was given daily for a 5-day period to 52 hospitalized depressed and adjustment disorder children and adolescents. Compared with a control group who viewed relaxing videotapes, the massaged subjects were less depressed and anxious and had lower saliva cortisol levels after the massage. In addition, nurses rated the subjects as being less anxious and more cooperative on the last day of the study, and nighttime sleep increased over this period. Finally, urinary cortisol and norepinephrine levels decreased, but only for the depressed subjects. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1992, 31, 1:125–131.
Key Words: massage , child/adolescent psychiatric patients
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This research was supported by an NIMH Research Scientist Award ( MH00331) and an NIMH research grant (MH40779) to Tiffany Field. The authors would like to thank Paul Greenwald, Jackie Roberts, Tom Flaa, and Jean Greer for their research assistance.
PII: S0890-8567(09)64415-4
doi:10.1097/00004583-199201000-00019
© 1992 The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 31, Issue 1 , Pages 125-131, January 1992
