https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4816-4357
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Abstract
Context/Objective
The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of pain severity, pain interference and social functioning in a serial multiple mediator model predicting school/work functioning in youth with spinal cord injury (SCI) from their perspective.
Design
Explanatory or mechanistic study.
Setting
Pediatric specialty hospital.
Participants
125 youth with SCI ages 8–24.
Outcome Measures
The Pain Severity Item and Pain Interference Scale from the PedsQL™ Spinal Cord Injury Module, and the Social Functioning and School/Work Functioning Scales from the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales Short Form SF15 were completed.
Results
Hierarchical multiple regression and serial multiple mediator model analyses were conducted to test the percent variability accounted for and the mediating effects of pain interference and social functioning in the association between pain severity and school/work functioning. Pain predictive effects on school/work functioning were serially mediated by pain interference and social functioning. In a predictive analytics model conducted with hierarchical multiple regression analysis, age, sex, pain, pain interference and social functioning accounted for 45% of the variance in youth-reported school/work functioning (P < 0.001), demonstrating a large effect size.
Conclusion
The mechanisms of the predictive effects of pain severity on school/work functioning in youth with SCI are explained in part by the serial multiple mediator effects of pain interference and social functioning. Identifying the multiple mediators of SCI pain on school/work functioning from the perspective of youth with SCI may facilitate future clinical research and practice to ameliorate impaired daily functioning and improve overall well-being.
Acknowledgements
This study was reviewed and approved by the Western Institutional Review Board (Study Number 1248478). We certify that all applicable institutional regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed during the course of this research.
Disclaimer statements
Contributors None.
Conflicts of interest Dr. Varni holds the copyright and the trademark for the PedsQL™ and receives financial compensation from the Mapi Research Trust, which is a nonprofit research institute that charges distribution fees to for-profit companies that use the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™. The other authors report no competing interests related to this study.
Data sharing statement
The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.