Factors related to the quality of life in adolescents with chronic pain.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the relationships between pain characteristics, psychosocial factors, and quality of life among adolescents with chronic pain that existed for at least 3 months, either recurrently (ie, pain with pain-free intervals) or continuously.


METHODS
The authors conducted a cross-sectional study in 194 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years who completed questionnaires on pain, psychosocial factors (ie, vulnerability, reinforcement, modeling, and coping), and quality of life, and also kept a diary about their pain complaints for 3 weeks.


RESULTS
Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that psychosocial variables accounted for a significant variance in the adolescents' quality of life, even when controlling for pain characteristics. Analysis of the independent variables showed that pain intensity and vulnerability contributed significantly and uniquely to the variance of most quality-of-life domains. In addition, the authors found that emotion-focused avoidance coping strategies (ie, catastrophizing) strengthened the negative relation between pain intensity and psychological functioning.


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to pain, psychosocial factors (vulnerability, reinforcement, modeling, and coping) are strongly associated with quality of life in adolescents with chronic pain. These results may contribute to psychological interventions focused on psychological adaptation in young pain patients to improve their quality of life.
Merlijn
Vivian P B M
VP
Department of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Erasmus MC Rotterdam, The Netherlands. v.merlijn@erasmusc.nl
Hunfeld
Joke A M
JA
van der Wouden
Johannes C
JC
Hazebroek-Kampschreur
Alice A J M
AA
Passchier
Jan
J
Koes
Bart W
BW
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011379:Prognosis; D011584:Psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires