Assessment and description of phobias among teenagers in schools of selected areas.

Objectives: 1. To assess phobias among teenagers in selected schools. 2. To describe phobias among teenagers in selected schools. 3. To find association between selected demographic variables and study finding. Material and Methods: The research approach adopted in this study is Mixed approach. Quantitative Non-experimental Descriptive Qualitative Phenomenological design was used. The sample were selected by Probability stratified random sampling technique. sample size was 100. Results: 1. According to 8% of the teenagers did not had phobia (score 0-8), 32% of them had mild phobia (score 9-16), 27% of them had moderate phobia (score 17-24), 21% of them had severe phobia (Score 25-32) and12% of them had very severe phobia (Score 33- 40). 2. Summative analysis shows that the most of teenage students are having Fear of Height, Fear of Water, Fear of Flying, Social Phobia, Fear of Animals, Fear of Dog, Fear of blood. Few of having some of having Fear of thunder, Fear of Alone, Fear of Disease, Fear of snakes, Fear of Night, Fear of Pain, Monophobia, Fear of Doctor, Fear of fire. Conclusion: Majority of teenagers having mild phobia, that may be any type for e.g. having Fear of Height, Fear of Water, Fear of Flying, Social Phobia, Fear of Animals, Fear of Dog, Fear of blood. Few of having some of having Fear of thunder, Fear of Alone, Fear of Disease, Fear of snakes, Fear of Night, Fear of Pain, Monophobia, Fear of Doctor, Fear of fire.

Health-Related Outcomes 3-15 Years Following Ankle Sprain Injury in Youth Sport: What Does the Future Hold?

Background: This study examined the association between youth sport-related ankle sprain injury and health-related outcomes, 3-15 years postinjury. Methods: A historical cohort study in which uninjured controls were cluster-matched with injured cases. The primary outcome was self-reported Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). Secondary outcomes included measures of adiposity, validated questionnaires for physical activity, athletic identity, fear of pain, and tests of strength, balance, and function. Results: We recruited 86 participants (median age of 23 years; 77% female); 50 with a time-loss ankle sprain, median of 8 years postinjury, and 36 uninjured controls cluster-matched by sex and sport. Based on mixed effects multivariable regression models, previously injured participants demonstrated poorer outcomes than controls on all 5 FAOS subscales regardless of sex and time since injury, with the largest differences observed in symptoms (−20.9, 99% CI: −29.5 to −12.3) and ankle-related quality of life (−25.3, 99% CI: −34.7 to −15.9) subscales. Injured participants also had poorer unipedal dynamic balance (−1.9, 99% CI: 3.5 to −0.2) and greater fear of pain (7.2, 99% CI: 0.9-13.4) compared with controls. No statistically significant differences were found for other secondary outcomes. Conclusion: At 3-15 years following time-loss ankle sprain injury in youth sport, previously injured participants had more pain and symptoms, poorer self-reported function, ankle-related quality of life, reduced sport participation, balance, and greater fear of pain than controls. This underlines the need to promote the primary prevention of ankle sprains and secondary prevention of potential health consequences, including posttraumatic osteoarthritis. Level of Evidence: Level III, historical cohort study.

Do Parental Pain Knowledge, Catastrophizing, and Hypervigilance Improve Following Pain Neuroscience Education in Healthy Children?

Pediatric chronic pain is a challenging problem for children and their families, although it is still under-recognized and under-treated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a pain neuroscience education program for children (PNE4Kids) delivered to healthy children aged 8 to 12 years old and attended by their parents would result in improved parental knowledge about pain neurophysiology, decreased parental pain catastrophizing about their own pain and their children’s, decreased parental pain vigilance and awareness, and decreased fear of pain in children. Twenty-seven healthy child–parent dyads received a 45 min PNE4Kids session. Demographic data were collected, and the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ), Fear of Pain Questionnaire—Parent Proxy Report (FOPQ-P), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Parents (PCS-P), and the Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ) were completed by the parents before and after the PNE4Kids session. Twenty-six dyads completed study participation. In response to the PNE4Kids session, significant short-term (1 week) improvements were shown in the NPQ (p < 0.001) and the FOPQ-P (p = 0.002). Parents’ level of pain knowledge and children’s fear of pain, reported by their parents, improved after a 45 min PNE4Kids session. Thus, PNE4Kids should likewise be further investigated in healthy child–parent dyads as it might be useful to target parental and children’s pain cognitions at a young age.

Fear of pain moderates the relationship between self-reported fatigue and methionine allele of catechol-O-methyltransferase gene in patients with fibromyalgia

Previous research has shown a consistent association among genetic factors, psychological symptoms and pain associated with fibromyalgia. However, how these symptoms interact to moderate genetic factors in fibromyalgia has rarely been studied to date. The present research investigates whether psychological symptoms can moderate the effects of catechol-O-methyltransferase on pain and fatigue. A total of 108 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 77 healthy control participants took part in the study. Pain, fatigue, and psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, fear of pain and fear of movement) were measured by self-report questionnaires. Two types of statistical analyses were performed; the first was undertaken to explore the influences of COMT genotypes on clinical symptoms by comparing patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls. In the second analysis, moderation analyses to explore the role of psychological symptoms as potential factors that moderate the relationship between pain/fatigue and COMT genotypes were performed. The main results indicated that patients carrying the Met/Met genotype reported significantly higher levels of fatigue than heterozygote carriers (i.e., Met/Val genotype) and higher levels of fatigue, but not significantly different, than Val homozygote carriers. Among patients with fibromyalgia carrying methionine alleles (i.e., Met/Met + Met/Val carriers), only those who scored high on medical fear of pain, experienced an intensified feeling of fatigue. Thus, the present research suggests that fear of pain, as a psychological symptom frequently described in fibromyalgia may act as a moderating factor in the relationship between the Met allele of the COMT gene and the increase or decrease in self-reported fatigue. Although further research with wider patient samples is needed to confirm the present findings, these results point out that the use of psychological interventions focused on affective symptomatology might be a useful tool to reduce the severity of fibromyalgia.

Association of Gender, Painkiller Use, and Experienced Pain with Pain-Related Fear and Anxiety among University Students According to the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9

Anxiety and fear are determinants of acute and chronic pain. Effectively measuring fear associated with pain is critical for identifying individuals’ vulnerable to pain. This study aimed to assess fear of pain among students and evaluate factors associated with pain-related fear. We used the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 to measure this fear. We searched for factors associated with fear of pain: gender, size of the city where the subjects lived, subject of academic study, year of study, the greatest extent of experienced pain, frequency of painkiller use, presence of chronic or mental illness, and past hospitalization. We enrolled 717 participants. Median fear of minor pain was 5 (4–7) fear of medical pain 7 (5–9), fear of severe pain 10 (8–12), and overall fear of pain 22 (19–26). Fear of pain was associated with gender, frequency of painkiller use, and previously experienced pain intensity. We found a correlation between the greatest pain the participant can remember and fear of minor pain (r = 0.112), fear of medical pain (r = 0.116), and overall fear of pain (r = 0.133). Participants studying medicine had the lowest fear of minor pain while stomatology students had the lowest fear of medical pain. As students advanced in their studies, their fear of medical pain lowered. Addressing fear of pain according to sex of the patient, frequency of painkiller use, and greatest extent of experienced pain could ameliorate medical training and improve the quality of pain management in patients.

A preliminary comparison of fundamental fears related to anxiety

In the quest to uncover lower order processes that underlie anxiety disorders, researchers have proposed a number of fundamental fears, which are thought to represent fears of inherently aversive stimuli that can explain a number of higher order constructs such as more specific fears. In a recent theoretical article, Carleton narrowed the list of potential fundamental fears down to three candidates: fear of death, fear of pain, and fear of the unknown. Carleton proposes that fear of the unknown represents the primary fundamental fear, suggesting that unlike the other two, fear of the unknown is inherently aversive and logically irreducible. The present study represents an initial empirical investigation of this hypothesis. In a cross-sectional study ( N = 373), fear of death, fear of pain, and fear of the unknown were assessed as simultaneous predictors of anxiety. Results showed that fear of the unknown was indeed the strongest unique predictor, while fear of pain also uniquely predicted anxiety, although to a lesser extent. While the results suggest that fear of the unknown may indeed be the most fundamental fear, the need for conceptual clarification and empirical work using diverse measures is discussed.