Zubaidah Jamil Osman1, Normala Ibrahim1, Mary Cardosa1, Sherina Muhd Sidik1, Muhd Najib Alwi1
1) Malaysia
There are limited studies on the psychosocial issues and familial environment in understanding pain in adolescence despite previous literature suggesting that familial factors, parents and their parenting styles can influence the way their children experience pain. The present study aims to determine what are the psychosocial factors involved, particularly regarding familial issues in adolescents with chronic pain in Selangor, Malaysia.
This is a part of a larger study examining psychosocial issues amongst secondary students in a district in Selangor, Malaysia A booklet of questionnaire consists of demographics, the DASS-21, the Rosenberg Self Esteem, their relationship with parents; and questions about pain was administered to 1800 students. Regarding pain, students were asked whether they had persistent pain for the last 1 year defined as "Pain in any part of the body, every day or most days, within 1 year". If they answered in the affirmative, they were then asked to state the pain site(s) and how much the pain interfered with their study or other activities. 1769 completed the questionnaire; giving a response rate of 98.2%.
Peevalence of students reported having persistent pain in the past 1 year was 39.6%. The most frequent pain sites reported were headache (20.1%), abdominal (12%), lower limb (9.2%) and back pain (6.7%). Those with persistent pain had significantly higher levels of anxiety, stress and depressive mood (Ps<0.0001) but lower level of self esteem (P<0.005). Adolescents with chronic pain reported higher level of frequency and intensity of conflicts with their parents as compared to those without chronic pain (p<0.005). Different styles of parenting were also identified in this study.
Early identification of psychosocial issues related to pain at an earlier stage is important in ensuring appropriate treatment and management for these adolescents in order for them to cope better with pain in the future.
