Accidental poisoning in children: a psychosocial study

Fifty pre-school children thought to have ingested potentially poisonous substances were studied, together with 50 controls. An interview with each child and mother was undertaken in the home situation. Seven at-risk factors make a child more likely to ingest a toxic substance. These are: greater accommodation changes by the family, father having had a large number of jobs, paternal past history of accidents, child's exploring ability, child's past history of poisonings, an abnormal appetite in children older than 2 and lower stimulation indices in 2-5 year olds. Attention is drawn to the similarity between many of these factors and childhood abuse and neglect.