Fleur Baert3, Joanna L. McParland1, Zina Trost2, Adam T. Hirsh2, Megan M. Miller2, Tine Vervoort3
1) Scotland 2) United States 3)Belgium
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Research has shown that appraisals of injustice contribute to deleterious pain-related outcomes. However, existing research on injustice appraisals has been restricted to an intrapersonal perspective (reflected in the Injustice Experience Questionnaire; IEQ), thus constituting a critical gap in knowledge and assessment regarding interpersonal injustice dynamics. Recent advances in research have increasingly highlighted that observers’ appraisals of sufferers’ pain and associated behaviors significantly impact sufferer pain experience. These dynamics are particularly critical in relationships where one is dependent upon another’s care, such as that between parent and child. Yet, no research is available examining parental appraisals of injustice in the context of child pain. Given the intrapersonal and adult focus of the IEQ, the present study aims to characterize the phenomenology of parental injustice appraisals in the context of pediatric pain using focus group methodology. The findings will be used to inform the development of the Parental Injustice Appraisal Questionnaire (PIAQ). METHODS: Five focus groups of mothers who have children with chronic pain will be conducted and subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). So far, three focus groups (total N = 17) have been run. RESULTS: Preliminary analysis of available data revealed key injustice-related themes involving a perceived lack of validation of the child’s pain by professionals and others, a sense of being judged/blamed as a parent by others, and a sense of lost childhood as a result of pain. Furthermore, findings indicated a distinction between child- vs parent-oriented injustice appraisals. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings highlight issues relevant to parental injustice appraisals within the interpersonal context of pediatric pain that may not be captured by available injustice instruments. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors would like to thank Anaïs Elebaut and Dr Ewan Wallace for help with recruitment and/or data collection. This study was supported by a IASP Collaborative Research Grant.
