Learning Objective #1: Identify illness-related factors, individual and environmental factors that may affect resilience in adolescents with chronic illness and pain

Learning Objective #2: Identify the relationship between perception of quality of life and self esteem in adolescents with chronic illness and pain

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Adolescence is a critical developmental period with many changes and challenges as the teenager seeks to make the transition into adulthood. The experience of chronic illness in adolescence may cause some degree of physiological and psychological issues such as a greater risk for low self-esteem due to their perception being different from peers. The purpose of this study is to identify illness-related, individual and environmental factors associated with resilience and positive outcomes in adolescents who have experienced multiple neurosurgical procedures and chronic pain. The theory of resilience facilitates health care professionals to gain the broadest understanding of the adolescent's quality of life and positive outcomes. Adolescents, ages 12-17 years who have had 20 or more neurosurgeries, and their mother/caregiver will be recruited from a population of adolescents followed on the Pediatric Neurosurgical Service at Children's Hospital of Michigan. This study will use a cross-sectional, multivariate, correlational design and will be completed in spring of 2005. The outcome variables will be: adolescent's perception of health-related quality of life and self-esteem. The predictor variables are: illness related factors, adolescent's factors, and environmental factors. This study will contribute to healthcare professionals' understanding of chronic illness and pain in adolescents and their families and will help to improve the quality of healthcare practice for this population.