Kovács Karolina Eszter, Boris Péter, Nagy Beáta Erika
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
Laki Kálmán Doctoral School, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
Children (Basel). 2025 May 21;12(5):657. doi: 10.3390/children12050657.
The study of psychological well-being in children and adolescents living with chronic illness is of particular relevance, as the physical and psychosocial aspects of the illness can have a significant impact on their quality of life. Previous research has highlighted that depression, nonproductive thoughts and various aspects of problematic internet use may be related to life satisfaction and ways of coping with illness. This study aims to examine how depression, nonproductive thoughts, and problematic internet use interact with illness perception and burden to affect psychological well-being and life satisfaction.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 207 chronically ill children aged 10-18 years. The children, aged between 10 and 18 years old, attended regular check-ups in different specialities (gastroenterology, pulmonology, onco-haematology, and paediatric rehabilitation). A cross-sectional study was carried out using psychological instruments to measure life satisfaction (SWLS), nonproductive thoughts (NPG-K), problematic internet use (PIU-Q), illness perception (PRISM) and illness burden (PRISM-D, IIRS), and depression (BDI-R). Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to explore the associations between variables.
Life satisfaction was negatively related to nonproductive thoughts (r = -0.28, < 0.001), internet obsession (r = -0.20, < 0.01), and internet neglect (r = -0.20, = 0.004). Conversely, a positive correlation was found with the PRISM (r = 0.14, = 0.042), suggesting that less dominance of illness detection is associated with higher life satisfaction. Depression and nonproductive thoughts showed a strong positive relationship (r = 0.49, < 0.001), and depression and problematic internet use also showed significant correlations for the obsession, neglect and control subscales (r = 0.23-0.29, all < 0.001). Cluster analysis identified three psychological profiles: 'positive fighters', 'avoidant sufferers', and 'negative observers', distinguished by differences in depression, nonproductive thoughts, illness burden, and well-being.
The results suggest that the quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic illness is significantly affected by mental health factors, particularly depression, nonproductive thoughts and problematic internet use. Illness perception and illness-related distress also play a key role in shaping life satisfaction and overall psychosocial well-being. These findings underscore the need for targeted psychological interventions in pediatric chronic care to enhance well-being and promote adaptive coping and suggest that psychological interventions and targeted psychosocial support can significantly improve these children's quality of life. Further research is needed to explore intervention options and to develop optimal support strategies.
对患有慢性病的儿童和青少年的心理健康进行研究具有特殊意义，因为疾病的生理和心理社会方面会对他们的生活质量产生重大影响。先前的研究强调，抑郁、无效思维以及网络使用问题的各个方面可能与生活满意度和应对疾病的方式有关。本研究旨在探讨抑郁、无效思维和网络使用问题如何与疾病认知及负担相互作用，从而影响心理健康和生活满意度。
对207名年龄在10 - 18岁的慢性病患儿进行了一项横断面研究。这些年龄在10至18岁之间的儿童在不同专科（胃肠病学、肺病学、肿瘤血液学和儿科康复）进行定期检查。使用心理测量工具进行横断面研究，以测量生活满意度（生活满意度量表）、无效思维（消极认知量表 - K）、网络使用问题（网络使用问题量表 - Q）、疾病认知（PRISM）和疾病负担（PRISM - D、IIRS）以及抑郁（贝克抑郁量表 - R）。采用斯皮尔曼等级相关分析来探索变量之间的关联。
生活满意度与无效思维（r = -0.28，p < 0.001）、网络沉迷（r = -0.20，p < 0.01）和网络忽视（r = -0.20，p = 0.004）呈负相关。相反，与PRISM呈正相关（r = 0.14，p = 0.042），这表明疾病察觉的较少主导与较高的生活满意度相关。抑郁与无效思维呈现出强正相关（r = 0.49，p < 0.001），并且抑郁与网络使用问题在沉迷、忽视和控制子量表上也显示出显著相关性（r = 0.23 - 0.29，均p < 0.001）。聚类分析确定了三种心理特征：“积极抗争者”、“回避受苦者”和“消极观察者”，它们通过抑郁、无效思维、疾病负担和幸福感的差异来区分。
结果表明，患有慢性病的儿童和青少年的生活质量受到心理健康因素的显著影响，尤其是抑郁、无效思维和网络使用问题。疾病认知和与疾病相关的痛苦在塑造生活满意度和整体心理社会幸福感方面也起着关键作用。这些发现强调了在儿科慢性病护理中进行有针对性心理干预以提高幸福感和促进适应性应对的必要性，并表明心理干预和有针对性的心理社会支持可以显著改善这些儿童的生活质量。需要进一步研究来探索干预选项并制定最佳支持策略。
