Pain, fatigue, and school functioning in children with cerebral palsy: a path-analytic model.
OBJECTIVE
This study tests a model of how pain and fatigue, independently or in combination, relate to school functioning in pediatric cerebral palsy (CP).


METHODS
One hundred eighty-nine parents of children with CP completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL 3.0 Cerebral Palsy Module. Seventy-three children with CP completed the PedsQL. Path-analytic and mediational techniques were utilized to test the a priori model.


RESULTS
Data from both parent proxy-report and child self-report were found to have acceptable model fit. Results supported the existence of an indirect relationship between diagnostic subtypes and school functioning that was partially mediated by both pain and fatigue.


CONCLUSIONS
Pain and fatigue represent potentially modifiable targets for interventions designed to improve school functioning in children with CP.
Berrin
Susan J
SJ
San Diego State University, USA. sberrin1@umbc.edu
Malcarne
Vanessa L
VL
Varni
James W
JW
Burwinkle
Tasha M
TM
Sherman
Sandra A
SA
Artavia
Kanela
K
Chambers
Henry G
HG
D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires