Assessment of the maturity of the minor in the health field: the perspective of parents and pediatricians

Introduction: the model of respect for autonomy and progressive participation in the pediatric context requires that attending pediatricians be able to assess minor maturity, and the and decide the degree of participation. The objective of this study is to determine the correlation between the assessment made subjectively by paediatricians and parents, with the maturity of the minor carried out by means of an objective test, the Lleida Maturity Assessment Scale, MadurTest.

Material and methods: prospective, observational and cross-sectional study. 199 adolescents between 12 and 16 years old, affected by acute and chronic pathology. The maturity of the patients was evaluated with the Madurtest scale and pediatricians and parents assessed the maturity of the minor in the form of the Likert maturity scale.

Results: the mean of the MadurTest score is 6.39, girls present a higher level of maturity than boys in most age groups. The maturity assessment by pediatricians is 3.18 on average and by parents 3.18. No correlation is observed between the score obtained with the MadurTest and the assessment by professionals or by parents. However, a correlation is observed between the assessments made by parents and professionals (r = 0.73, p <0.00001)

Conclusions: the maturity of minors assessed subjectively by paediatricians and parents does not correlate with the maturity assessed objectively using the Madurtest.