Brief report: cognitive functioning and academic achievement in children and adolescents with chronic pain.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the patterns of cognitive functioning and academic achievement in children and adolescents with chronic pain attending a tertiary-care interdisciplinary pain service.


METHODS
The standardized psychoeducational testing results of 57 children and adolescents with chronic pain aged 8-18 were retrospectively reviewed.


RESULTS
On average, participants scored higher in general intelligence, verbal ability, nonverbal reasoning, word reading, and math reasoning than the general population. The level of academic achievement for most participants was consistent with their intellectual ability.


CONCLUSIONS
In this clinical sample with complex, disabling pain, the group mean data do not indicate overall cognitive impairment, or a single atypical achievement pattern. Future research will need to look beyond cognitive and achievement scores to explore the links between school functioning and chronic pain in children.
Ho
Greenly H Y
GH
Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6. hyh@sfu.ca
Bennett
Susan M
SM
Cox
David
D
Poole
Gary
G
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools; D014706:Verbal Learning