Faculty Collaboration Database

Predicting Multiple Facets of School Functioning in Pediatric Chronic Pain: Examining the Direct Impact of Anxiety. Clin J Pain 2015 Oct;31(10):867-75

Date

11/21/2014

Pubmed ID

25411857

DOI

10.1097/AJP.0000000000000181

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84941998210 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   31 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The relationships among chronic pain, anxiety, and school functioning are complex, and school functioning is often negatively impacted in youth with chronic pain. The objective of this study was to empirically test a model of associations between constructs predicting school functioning in youth with chronic pain to examine the direct effect of anxiety on school attendance and other indicators of school-related disability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants included 349 youth and their parents (311 mothers and 162 fathers) who attended a multidisciplinary pain clinic. Youth, mothers, fathers, and clinicians completed assessments of clinical outcomes important to family and clinician perceptions of school functioning; youth, mothers, and fathers completed an assessment of youth anxiety. Structural equation modeling was used to examine interrelations among predictors.

RESULTS: Measurement and structural models for predicting youth school functioning provided a very good fit of the data to the conceptual model. Anxiety was directly related to problems with school attendance and avoidance, concentration, and keeping up with schoolwork.

DISCUSSION: Anxiety was a robust predictor of school functioning across a range of domains. Evaluating anxiety symptoms in pediatric chronic pain will likely facilitate case conceptualization and treatment planning. This study supports a shift in focus from pain to anxiety as the driving force of school impairment in youth with chronic pain.

Author List

Khan KA, Tran ST, Jastrowski Mano KE, Simpson PM, Cao Y, Hainsworth KR

Authors

Keri Hainsworth PhD Director, Associate Professor in the Anesthesiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Pippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Achievement
Adolescent
Anxiety
Child
Chronic Pain
Female
Humans
Male
Models, Theoretical
Pain Measurement
Parents
Predictive Value of Tests
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Surveys and Questionnaires