Enuresis

Abstract

Children’s bedwetting is a socially significant problem, and professional consensus about its treatment is still lacking (Houts et al., 1994; Rappaport, 1993). Enuresis is considered to be one of the most common behavior problems among children (Rutter et al., 1973). Enuresis is defined as a repeated voiding of urine into the bed or clothes. The behavior is clinically significant as manifested by either a frequency of twice a week for at least three consecutive months or the presence of clinically significant distress or impairment in social, academic, or other important areas of functioning. The chronological age for diagnosis is at least 5 years. Also, the behavior is not due exclusively to the direct physiological effect of a substance or a general medical condition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The frequency of enuretic children in the population reaches as high as 30% at the age of 5 and drops in prevalence with increased age (Doleys, 1977), demonstrating a higher frequency among boys than girls (DeJong, 1973; Doleys, 1977). The high predominance of nocturnal enuresis during childhood and even adolescence has been widely documented in the literature (Azrin & Thiens, 1978; Doleys, 1977; Fielding & Doleys, 1988; Houts et al., 1994).