Pain, negative mood, and perceived support in chronic pain patients: A daily diary study of people with reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome.

Background: Despite daily variability in children's chronic pain experiences, little is known about how parents' emotions and goals toward their child's pain are influenced by these daily changes. This diary study examined how daily child pain intensity (as perceived by parents) moderates the associations between parental catastrophic thoughts about child pain on the one hand, and daily parental distress and parents' goals with regard to their child's pain (pain control vs. activity engagement) on the other hand.Method: Participants were 25 parents of 20 different children (N = 18; 90% girls). Children, aged 8–14 years (M = 9.5, SD = 2.09), experienced either chronic headache or functional abdominal pain with an average pain duration of 22.5 months (SD = 24.5 months). Daily parental responses (i.e., perceived child pain intensity, distress and goal endorsement) were collected through a 3-week daily diary (resulting in 413 valid diary reports). Parents completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Parents prior to starting the diary (PCS-P general) and a daily measure (PCS-P daily) included in the diary. To account for the interdependence of the data, the data were analyzed using multilevel modeling.Results: Perceived daily child pain intensity moderated the impact of parental general and daily catastrophic thoughts on parents' daily distress. Only for parents experiencing low general catastrophic thoughts an increase in distress was observed on days when they perceived their child's pain intensity as high. For all parents, high levels of perceived child pain intensity were related to more distress on days where parents reported high levels of catastrophic thinking (i.e., PCS-P daily). Perceived daily child pain intensity also moderated the impact of parental general catastrophic thinking on parents' daily endorsement of goals. Parents with high levels of general catastrophic thinking reported a lower focus on child pain control on days when child pain intensity was perceived to be low. Parents with low general catastrophic thinking reported lower endorsement of the activity engagement goal on days where the child's pain intensity was perceived to be low.Conclusion: These findings highlight the complexity of daily fluctuations in parental distress and goals regarding their child's pain. Clinical implications and future directions are critically assessed.

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Investigating How Parental Instructions and Protective Responses Mediate the Relationship Between Parental Psychological Flexibility and Pain-Related Behavior in Adolescents With Chronic Pain: A Daily Diary Study

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02350 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Melanie Beeckman ◽

Laura E. Simons ◽

Sean Hughes ◽

Tom Loeys ◽

Liesbet Goubert

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Daily Diary ◽

Psychological Flexibility ◽

Diary Study ◽

Daily Diary Study ◽

The Relationship

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Age-Dependent Opioid Escalation in Chronic Pain Patients

Yearbook of Anesthesiology and Pain Management ◽

10.1016/s1073-5437(08)70477-7 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 2006 ◽

pp. 233

Author(s):

S.E. Abram

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Chronic Pain Patients ◽

Age Dependent ◽

Pain Patients

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Pain Influences Several Levels of Attention

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024/1016-264x.16.4.235 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 235-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Astrid von Bueren Jarchow ◽

Bogdan P. Radanov ◽

Lutz Jäncke

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Divided Attention ◽

Covert Attention ◽

Attention Task ◽

Attentional Deficits ◽

Control Subjects ◽

Chronic Pain Patients ◽

Divided Attention Task ◽

Pain Stimuli ◽

Pain Patients

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to examine to what extent chronic pain has an impact on various attentional processes. To measure these attention processes a set of experimental standard tests of the “Testbatterie zur Aufmerksamkeitsprüfung” (TAP), a neuropsychological battery testing different levels of attention, were used: alertness, divided attention, covert attention, vigilance, visual search, and Go-NoGo tasks. 24 chronic outpatients and 24 well-matched healthy control subjects were tested. The control subjects were matched for age, gender, and education. The group of chronic pain patients exhibited marked deficiencies in all attentional functions except for the divided attention task. Thus, the data supports the notion that chronic pain negatively influences attention because pain patients` attention is strongly captivated by the internal pain stimuli. Only the more demanding divided attention task has the capability to distract the focus of attention to the pain stimuli. Therefore, the pain patients are capable of performing within normal limits. Based on these findings chronic pain patients' attentional deficits should be appropriately evaluated and considered for insurance and work related matters. The effect of a successful distraction away from the pain in the divided attention task can also open new therapeutic aspects.

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