title: Predictors of health-related quality of life in a sample of children and adolescents: a school survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim is to study the health-related quality of life in a school sample of children and adolescents aged 8-18 years and to examine the relationship between health-related quality of life and the following variables; age, gender, perceived pain, body image, body mass index and bullying.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The study of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents have received little attention compared with adults in health care research and still little is known about the associations between health-related quality of life and other variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional design was chosen.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the health-related quality of life using the generic questionnaire KIDSCREEN-10. We administered the KIDSCREEN 52-item, and the 10 items were selected from this according to the KIDSCREEN manual. Multilevel regression models were used to evaluate the associations between health-related quality of life and the independent variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample included 1066 children and adolescents, 576 girls and 490 boys, with a response rate of 74%. The results show that body mass index was not significant associated with health-related quality of life in full model. However, in addition to age, being bullied, pain and body image were significant associated with health-related quality of life. Of these predictors, body image has the strongest impact in terms of explained variance in health-related quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The subjective sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with one's body, perceived body image, is a powerful predictor of health-related quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Knowledge about predictors of health-related quality of life is especially important for public health nurses. Health promotion and intervention programmes that aim to strengthen psychosocial well-being, especially those that strengthen body image, should be developed for both genders.
authors.affiliation: Oslo University College, Faculty of Nursing, Oslo, Norway. kristin.haraldstad@su.hio.no
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haraldstad
authors.forename: Knut-Andreas
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Christophersen
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eide
authors.forename: Gerd K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Nativg
authors.forename: Sølvi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helseth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D058445:Bullying; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life