Although chronic pain and depression commonly co-occur, causal relationships have yet to be established. A reciprocal relationship, with depression increasing pain and vice versa, is most frequently suggested, but experimental evidence is needed to validate such a view. The most straightforward approach would be a demonstration that increasing or decreasing depressed mood predictably modifies pain responses. The current experiment tested whether experimentally induced depressed and happy mood have differential effects on pain ratings and tolerance in 55 patients suffering from chronic back pain. Participants were randomly assigned to depressed, neutral (control) or elated mood induction conditions. They completed a physically passive baseline task prior to receiving mood induction, then a clinically relevant physically active task (holding a heavy bag) to elicit pain responses and tolerance. Measures were taken immediately after the baseline task and immediately after the mood induction to assess the changes in mood, pain ratings and tolerance before and after the experimental manipulation. Results indicate that the induction of depressed mood resulted in significantly higher pain ratings at rest and lower pain tolerance, whilst induced happy mood resulted in significantly lower pain ratings at rest and greater pain tolerance. Correlations between changes in mood on the one hand and changes in pain response and pain tolerance on the other hand were consistent with these findings. It is concluded that, in chronic back pain patients, experimentally induced negative mood increases self-reported pain and decreases tolerance for a pain-relevant task, with positive mood having the opposite effect.

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The phenomenological information both informs and supports the idea that the cognitive-behavioural model of health anxiety can be adapted for the understanding of and development of treatments for pain patients with health anxiety. The findings also challenge the common practice of 'lumping' pain patients into a single group and underline the importance of matching treatments to the patients' psychological characteristics.

IntroductionThere is a need to comprehensively examine and evaluate the quality of the psychometric properties of school connectedness measures to inform school based assessment and intervention planning.ObjectiveTo systematically review the literature on the psychometric properties of self-report measures of school connectedness for students aged six to 14 years.MethodsA systematic search of five electronic databases and gray literature was conducted. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of heath Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) taxonomy of measurement properties was used to evaluate the quality of studies and a pre-set psychometric criterion was used to evaluate the overall quality of psychometric properties.ResultsThe measures with the strongest psychometric properties was the School Climate Measure and the 35-item version Student Engagement Instrument exploring eight and 12 (of 15) school connectedness components respectively.ConclusionsThe overall quality of psychometric properties was limited suggesting school connectedness measures available require further development and evaluation.

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Limited interventions exist that support student’s school participation. This paper describes a theoretical model of school participation and the iterative process that led to the development of an intervention that aims to improve the school participation of students on the autism spectrum and their typically developing peers. Literature on autism, school participation and intervention research were integrated to develop a theoretical model. Focus groups, a Delphi study, online surveys, and reference group consultation helped to develop and refine the intervention. A novel school-based intervention was developed. The impetus to develop interventions with a strong theoretical rationale is discussed.

In My Shoes is a peer supported, teacher-led, school-based intervention that aims to improve the school participation and connectedness of students on the autism spectrum. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility, fidelity, and preliminary effectiveness of In My Shoes in mainstream elementary schools. Ten Grade 3 and 4 students on the autism spectrum and 200 of their typically developing peers across eight classrooms and six schools participated. The following aspects of feasibility were explored: recruitment capability and sample characteristics, data collection procedures and outcome measures, appropriateness, implementation, and practicality of the intervention. Fidelity was explored by evaluating the delivery of intervention components against set criteria. Preliminary effectiveness was investigated by evaluating changes in intervention outcomes pre-post intervention using a range of outcome measures. Study findings are encouraging, suggesting In My Shoes is a feasible and appropriate intervention, and shows promise in improving the self-report school engagement of all student participants, as well the classroom participation and subjective school experiences of students on the autism spectrum. Useful insights into ways the intervention and the design of future research can be improved are discussed.

School participation and connectedness have significant implications on student outcomes while at school and in later life. The need to develop evidence-based interventions to proactively support students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is imperative. A two-round Delphi technique was used to gain expert consensus to inform the development of a school-based intervention to improve the school participation and connectedness of elementary students with ASD. Seventy-six expert clinicians, educators, and researchers completed Round 1 and 65 completed Round 2. Consensus was achieved on the application of a conceptual framework of participation in Round 1, which informed the theoretical rationale of the intervention. Consensus on the importance of proposed classroom modules and the feasibility of proposed intervention techniques was achieved in Round 2. The process of gaining expert perspectives to develop an evidence-based intervention provides greater confidence that the intervention will be effective in achieving meaningful outcomes for students with ASD.