psychosocial dwarfism

deprivation dwarfism

short stature due to emotional deprivation.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

A state of irreversible hyposomatism, which is generally linked to abuse, neglect, and sensory deprivation resulting in stunted statural, intellectual and social growth

psychosocial dwarfism

Abuse dwarfism, Kaspar Hauser syndrome, deprivation dwarfism Social medicine Irreversible hyposomatism, largely attributed to abuse, neglect, and sensory deprivation. See Anaclytic depression, Genie, Social isolation, The Wild Child. Cf Companionship, Reversible hyposomatotropic dwarfism.

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References in periodicals archive ?

The nine-year-old boy was so poorly treated he developed a condition called psychosocial dwarfism.

"He was extremely short at the age of nine and significantly shorter than his six year old brother, for which the most likely diagnosis is psychosocial dwarfism.

Negligence by mother makes Brit boy a dwarf

For many years, endocrinologists and psychiatrists have been fascinated by children with 'psychosocial dwarfism' whose growth in stature is impaired, often to a dramatic degree, consequent to serious abuse or neglect.

In this book, he competently reviews the existing literature, setting it within the context of an historical account of Kaspar Hauser, whose story introduces and concludes the discussion of clinical material about psychosocial dwarfism. Kaspar Hauser was found at the Haller Gate of the city of Nuremberg in 1828, carrying a written note that suggested he was 16 years of age.

However, if this treatment is given to children with psychosocial dwarfism, it does not work: they do not grow any faster.

The Kaspar Hauser Syndrome of 'Psychosocial Dwarfism': Deficient Statural, Intellectual, and Social Growth Induced by Child Abuse