Assessment of behavioral mechanisms maintaining encopresis: Virginia Encopresis-Constipation Apperception Test.

Objective: To develop and test a scale for parent and child, evaluating theoretical and clinical parameters relevant to children with encopresis. Encopretic children were hypothesized to have more bowel-specific, but not more generic, psychological problems, as compared with nonsymptomatic control children. In addition, mothers were also believed to be more discerning than children.