Pain, pain interference, social and school/work functioning in youth with spinal cord injury: A mediation analysis

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.

Explanatory or mechanistic study.

Pediatric specialty hospital.

125 youth with SCI ages 8-24.

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.

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.

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.