Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on March 3, 2005
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2005 30(6):481-491; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsi073
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Personality Predicts Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients with Unintentional Injuries: A 1-Year Follow-up Study
1 University of Oslo and 2 University Childrens Hospital
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Margarete Vollrath, University of Oslo, Norway, Pob 1094 Blindern, NO-0317 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: margarete.vollrath{at}psykologi.uio.no.
Received May 27, 2004; revisions received September 6, 2004 and September 20, 2004; accepted October 12, 2004
Objective Few studies have charted the course of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in pediatric injury patients, and no studies so far have examined the extent to which variations in HRQoL 1 month and 1 year after injury are influenced by the childs personality. Method One hundred and seven pediatric injury victims (614 years old) completed an interview on HRQoL and were rated on the personality domains of the Five-Factor Model by their mothers 1 month and 1 year after the incident. Results HRQoL was compromised after 1 month, particularly in the physical domain, but improved significantly after 1 year. Lower HRQoL after 1 month was predicted by female gender, injury severity, functional status, and neuroticism. After 1 year, lower HRQoL was predicted by concurrent functional status and neuroticism. Conclusions Even if HRQoL in children with unintentional injuries returns to normal levels after 1 year, significant variations remain, which are in part explained by personality.
Key words: children and adolescents; Five-Factor Model; health-related quality of life; pediatric patients; personality; unintentional injuries.