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Measuring suggestibility is clinically relevant
as it may help to identify those who might respond
readily to hypnosis and those who may
require additional training or support.
14
Age and Sex Differences
Patient samples were stratified for analysis by
age
35,37,38
and by sex.
36
Sex of the child has
been reported to have an impact on the level
of pediatric behavioral distress.
36,39
For example,
Katz et al.
36
found that boys tended to
do better in the play condition and girls
tended to do better with hypnosis. The patient
population in the study by Kuttner et al.
35
included
a very young age group (3--6 years)
for whom it may be difficult to gauge levels
80 Richardson et al. Vol. 31 No. 1 January 2006
of pain control. The positive results from the
hypnotic intervention for this age are thus of
clinical value. However, Kuttner et al. also
found that younger children (3--7 years) were
less able to use the techniques on their own
than were the older children.
Self-Hypnosis vs. Therapist-Induced
Hypnosis
Self-hypnosis rather than therapist-induced
hypnosis was evaluated less often as an intervention
in pediatric patients. This mode of intervention,
once learned, has the potential to
facilitate self-management of symptoms and