Quality of Life of Children and Adolescents with Short Stature: The Twofold Contribution of Physical Growth and Adaptive Height-Related Cognitive Beliefs

This study aimed to examine the health-related quality of life (HrQoL), coping, height-related beliefs, and social support of children/adolescents with short stature, the sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables associated with HrQoL, and the moderating role of sociodemographic and clinical variables on the associations between psychosocial variables and HrQoL. 114 Portuguese children/adolescents with short stature, aged 8–18 years old, completed the Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Social Support Scale. Regression analyses explained 54% of the variance of HrQoL, with significant main effects of current height deviation and height-related beliefs, and a significant interaction effect between beliefs and diagnosis. Results suggest that a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach, not only focused on hormone treatment to boost physical growth, but also including psychosocial interventions focused on the modification of height-related beliefs, may contribute to improve the HrQoL of pediatric patients with short stature.