Importance of parental conceptual model of illness in severe recurrent abdominal pain.

Objectives: Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) affects up to 15% of children. A biopsychosocial approach to the treatment of children with RAP has been proposed as an alternative to the traditional medical model. The aim of this study was to examine whether the parental conceptual model of illness is a factor in the long-term outcome of children with severe RAP.