{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T09:24:24Z","timestamp":1787131464469,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000071","name":"National Institutes of Health NICHD","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["T32HD068223"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T32HD068223"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000071","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["T32HD068223"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T32HD068223"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04byxyr05","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Illness uncertainty is inherent in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, the factors that contribute to it and outcomes impacted by it have yet to be assessed in pediatric IBS. As such, the current longitudinal pilot study assessed the relationship between disease characteristics, illness appraisals, mood, and health-related outcomes. Methods: 50 youth (ages 10\u201318) diagnosed with IBS completed self-report measures across three timepoints. Path analysis models specifying illness uncertainty as the mediator were constructed and assessed with Mplus using Bayesian Estimation. Results: Time-2 illness uncertainty significantly predicted time-3 depressive and anxiety symptoms, higher functional disability, and lower levels of problem- and emotion-focused coping. Exploratory indirect effects demonstrating clinical signals were also identified. Conclusions: Future observational studies with larger samples are needed to further investigate illness appraisals\u2019 relationships with adjustment and health-related outcomes in pediatric IBS. This is a fruitful avenue to identify modifiable areas of targeted intervention.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13081106","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T07:58:23Z","timestamp":1787126303000},"page":"1106","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Illness Uncertainty in Pediatric Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Kaitlyn L.","family":"Gamwell","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1074-7787","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abigail S.","family":"Robbertz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1134-5667","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"James L.","family":"Peugh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Neha","family":"Santucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA"},{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kahleb","family":"Graham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA"},{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kevin A.","family":"Hommel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2211","DOI":"10.3748\/wjg.v24.i21.2211","article-title":"Irritable bowel syndrome in children: Current knowledge, challenges and opportunities","volume":"24","author":"Devanarayana","year":"2018","journal-title":"World J. 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