Christine T. Chambers1, Natalie O. Rosen1, Simon Sherry1, Somayyeh Mohammadi1, Mary Lynch1, Alexander J. Clark1, Marsha Campbell-Yeo1
1) Canada
Background and Aims: Children of parents with chronic pain are at risk for more problems with pain and mental health than children whose parents do not have chronic pain. Examining protective factors in this population may reveal pathways for optimizing health, beyond reducing risk factors. Based on research in adults and children with chronic pain, three factors were identified as possible protective factors in children of parents with chronic pain: pain acceptance, pain self-efficacy, and dispositional optimism. This project examined relationships between these hypothesized protective factors and child pain and mental health outcomes. Methods: As part of a larger project, children (ages 8-15) of parents with chronic pain (at least 6 months duration) completed questionnaires assessing the hypothesized protective factors described above. They also reported on their pain over the past 3 months, internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety symptoms), and positive adjustment (e.g., interpersonal relationships). Results: Nineteen children (Nfemale=11, mean age=11.74, SD=2.47) and parents (Nfemale=16, mean pain intensity=7.00, SD=1.85) completed study procedures. Lower child pain intensity was associated with higher pain self-efficacy (i.e. lower scores on this measure; r=0.57, p=0.018) and pain acceptance (r=-0.56, p=0.019), but not optimism (r=0.30, p=0.225). Greater child pain acceptance was associated with satisfaction with interpersonal relationships (r=0.56, p=0.029) and lower levels of internalizing disorder symptoms (r=-0.57, p=0.033) and feelings of inadequacy (r=-0.57, p=0.028). Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that child pain self-efficacy and pain acceptance may be protective factors for outcomes in children of parents with chronic pain. The same evidence was not identified for dispositional optimism. These factors should be further investigated in future work, including their relative role in predicting outcomes compared to hypothesized risk factors, to identify targets for intervention.
Acknowledgments/Disclosures: This study was funded by a CIHR Doctoral Award to K. Higgins (GSD-140344), the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and the Canadian Pain Society.
