Douglas (1975) linked early hospitalization with problems in adolescence in which domain?

• A. Reading skills
• B. Classroom behavior
• C. Delinquency
• D. Stability of job patterns

Answer: (B)

Early hospitalization can disrupt a child’s schooling and social development, and Douglas’s 1975 work found that the adolescence problems most closely linked to that early experience show up in classroom behavior. When hospitalization interrupts schooling, children miss instruction, routines, and peer interactions, which can lead to difficulties in self-regulation and following classroom norms. As a result, behaviors such as inattention, noncompliance, and disruptive conduct become more evident in the school setting during adolescence. Reading skills may be affected by overall educational disruption, but the study highlighted how behavior in class best reflected the long-term impact. Delinquency and job stability are important areas, but the specific adolescence outcome tied to early hospitalization in this work was classroom behavior.