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The Effects of Retention Control Training and the Urine Alarm on Nocturnal Enuresis and Attributions for the Therapeutic Outcome

Nocturnal enuresis is one of the most common and pervasive childhood problems. Without effective intervention, the child's nocturnal enuresis may persist. This may result in possible distress and even psychological problems in the child. The current study had two aims. The first aim was to examine the effectiveness of retention control training, and the urine alarm if necessary, as an intervention for primary nocturnal enuresis. The second aim was to explore children's attributions for the therapeutic outcome of the intervention method regarding their nocturnal enuresis. The first aim was important, as previous research has revealed contradictory findings. The second aim was also important, as to date, research has neglected to explore this topic. Six children aged 8 to 12 years and their primary caregivers participated in the current study. Attribution data was obtained at three intervals through one-on-one semi-structured interviews between the researcher and child. Results found that with retention control training: one child achieved nocturnal urinary continence, three children decreased the number of their wet nights, and two children failed to respond. The addition of the urine alarm enabled three more children to achieve nocturnal urinary continence. In terms of attributions, results found that brief psycho-education appeared to have influenced these children‟s attributions. However, overall attribution findings suggested that children perceived researcher assistance, unknown factors, and the techniques used in retention control training to have influenced their success in the achievement of nocturnal urinary continence. These results would help to inform general practitioners and psychologists in terms of intervention recommendations for evidence-based practice, and future research.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/8483
Date January 2013
CreatorsMcKenzie, Emily Mary
PublisherUniversity of Canterbury. School of Health Sciences
Source SetsUniversity of Canterbury
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic thesis or dissertation, Text
RightsCopyright Emily Mary McKenzie, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml
RelationNZCU

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