Abstract Background: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and its related symptoms (e.g. pain) have been associated with interference in the daily life of adolescents with JIA including their friendships. There is little research in that sense and in consequence, interventions designed to improve this area. The objectives of this study are 1) to gain knowledge about the needs of adolescents with JIA, particularly focused on their friendships; 2) to explore the potential of the Internet to help them, and 3) to determine what kind of online resource would be the best and what elements it should include. Methods: To achieve the proposed objectives we designed a qualitative study including two phases: the first one exploratory (semi-structured interviews) and the following, confirmatory (online focus group). Results: 14 adolescents were interviewed and 7 participated in the focus group. They reported some social challenges related to their illness: feeling different, criticized by peers, or not believed. Additionally, they specified some of the coping strategies they used, such as disclosing to others that they have JIA, using communication skills, maintaining activities with friends, trying to minimize pain, and ignoring negative comments. Adolescents considered an online resource useful and mentioned that they would like to find general information and to have the possibility to interact with others. They considered Instagram and WhatsApp as good platforms to implement the online resource. Conclusions: According to their perceptions, adolescents with JIA can benefit from an online resource which delivers information, strategies and facilitates interaction with others.

ABSTRACT This study review the available literature about friendships of children and adolescents with chronic pain, focusing on the mechanisms they use to face challenges in their relationships and the theories studies use to address this topic. We conducted a search in PubMed, PsycINFO, and WOS from inception to August 2017. We included peer-reviewed primary studies with a specific subgroup analysis of friendships in children and adolescents (6-18 years old) with the followingconditions: lower limb pain, neck and shoulder pain, back pain, abdominal pain, headache and migraines, fibromyalgia, and complex regional pain syndrome. Twenty empirical articles were selected. From these studies, 18 mechanisms and 6theories were identified. Studies show a high variability in the methodologies employed, as well as in the way they define friendships experience. Finally, very few of the studies selected are theory-based.

RESUMEN Este estudio revisa las publicaciones científicas disponibles sobre las amistades de niños y adolescentes que padecen dolor crónico centrándose en los mecanismos que utilizan para afrontar los desafíos que sus relaciones les plantean y las teorías utilizadas por los estudios para abordar este tema. Llevamos a cabo una búsqueda en PubMed, PsycINFO y WOS desde los inicios hasta agosto de 2017. Incluimos estudios primarios de revisión de pares con un subgrupo de análisis específico de las amistades en niños y adolescentes (entre 6 y 18 años), con las siguientes condiciones: dolor en las extremidades inferiores, dolor de cuello y hombros, dolor de espalda, dolor abdominal, dolor de cabeza y migrañas, fibromialgia y síndrome de dolor regional complejo. Se seleccionaron 20 artículos empíricos, a partir de los cuales se detectaron 18 mecanismos y 6 teorías. Los estudios muestran gran variabilidad en la metodología utilizada, así como en el modo de definir la experiencia de las amistades. Por último, muy pocos de los estudios elegidos están basados en la teoría.