Date: 30/10/2025
We’re pleased to highlight new research by SCDTP student Claire Cornick (University of Portsmouth), published in the Journal of Health Psychology and featured on the University of Portsmouth website.
The study shows that children with chronic pain are more likely to have lower SATs scores, reduced school attendance, and higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to their peers. Using standardised test data, this is the first study in England to directly link chronic pain with national school performance outcomes.
The findings highlight the need for greater awareness and improved support for children with chronic pain in education settings.
🔗 Read more: https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/school-test-scores-are-lower-for-children-with-chronic-pain
Claire Cornick is a full-time SCDTP-funded doctoral researcher at the University of Portsmouth and is part of the 2023–2024 cohort. She is supervised by Nils Niederstrasser, Jessica Massonnie, and Iris Nomikou. Her PhD project is titled “Examining and enhancing teacher training for paediatric chronic pain.”
