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).