Demographic Variables Associated with QOL
There were no differences between males and females on any of the
measures or subscales except for the child PedsQL cognitive changes
scale, p = .03. Older age was significantly correlated with worse
scores on the total parent PedsQL and the subscales of nausea, worry,
appearance, and communication (Table 2). For the child PedsQL, older age
was not correlated with the total score, but was correlated with worse
scores on the subscales of pain, nausea, and worry (p s
< .05). Age was not correlated with the Faces Scale. Race and
ethnicity were only correlated with the parent PedsQL cognitive scale
(p = .007). SES (parent’s highest level of education) was not
correlated with either the parent or child PedsQL total or subscale
scores. Neither race/ethnicity nor SES were correlated with the Faces
Scale or posture. Distance from the hospital in miles was not correlated
with any of the measures.
The significant associations found between age and QOL measures were
then further examined using linear regression. On the parent report
PedsQL, there were small to medium effect sizes for the relationships
between age and the total score (F 1,93 = 7.73,p = .007, standardized β = 0.28), nausea
(F 1,93 = 15.71, p < .001,
standardized β = 0.38), appearance (F 1,93= 15.91, p < .001, standardized β = 0.38), and
communication (F 1,93 = 4.72, p = .03,
standardized β = 0.22). There was also a medium effect size for
the relationship between age and worry (F 1,93 =
32.17, p < .001, standardized β = 0.51). The
child report PedsQL also showed small effect sizes for the relationships
between age and pain (F 1,57 = 6.05, p =
.02, standardized β = 0.31), nausea (F 1,57= 6.78, p = .01, standardized β = 0.33), and a medium
effect size for the relationship between age and worry
(F 1,57 = 19.32, p < .001,
standardized β = 0.50). Age also had a moderate effect on posture
(F 1,65 = 13.41, p = .001, standardizedβ = 0.41).