Psychological factors and Quality of Life in children with palliative needs: A predictive analysis

Abstract

Abstract Children with palliative needs present physical and psychological symptoms and it is important to be aware of their self-perception to improve their quality of life. Purpose: Determine the predictive value of sociodemographic, disease and psychological variables in relation to the self-perceived Quality of Life (pQoL) of children with limiting and life-threatening diseases. Methods: A cross-sectional study with children aged 8 and over, where sociodemographic and disease variables are collected through clinical history. Psychological evaluation is carried out using specific tools validated in the child population on Emotion Regulation, Cognitive Strategies and Risk of Depression and Anxiety, and on their pQoL using a visual analogue scale. Descriptive means and standard deviations are calculated, and three linear regression models are estimated. Results: The sample was made up of 60 children with an average age of 16.0 (SD=4.2), 33.3% girls, with a mean pQoL of 7.0 (SD=1.8). 45% presented emotional symptoms; 46.7% relationship problems with peers; 33.3% behavioral problems; 22% risk of Depression and 30% of Anxiety; and 18.3% Emotion Regulation difficulties. The regression model explained 54.7% of the variance of pQoL, showing the following to negatively influence pQoL: aged 14 and over (p=0.03), exacerbated symptoms (p=0.01), Risk of Depression (p= 0.01) and the use of the Cognitive Rumination and Catastrophizing Strategy (p<0.01). Conclusions: The holistic perspective, being a model that can identify psychological variables that influence QoL, best explains the variability of children's perception of quality of life. Psychological interventions should be aimed at improving depressive symptoms, cognitive strategies, and relational skills.