Parent Pain and Catastrophizing Are Associated With Pain, Somatic Symptoms, and Pain-Related Disability Among Early Adolescents

Abstract

Objective To examine associations between parental history of pain and catastrophizing and their adolescent's pain, somatic symptoms, catastrophizing, and disability. Methods Participants included 178 youths aged 11-14 years recruited through public schools. Adolescents completed measures assessing pain characteristics, somatic symptoms, and pain catastrophizing. Parents reported on their own pain, and catastrophizing about their adolescent's pain. Results About one quarter of the adolescents and two thirds of parents reported having pain. Parent pain was associated with adolescent pain, somatic symptoms, and pain catastrophizing. Parent catastrophizing was a significant predictor of adolescent somatic symptoms and pain-related disability, beyond the contribution of parent pain. Adolescent catastrophizing mediated the association between parent catastrophizing and adolescent pain-related disability. Conclusions Parent history of pain and pain-related cognitions may contribute to adolescent risk for chronic pain.

Perceived Injustice Is Associated With Pain and Functional Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With Chronic Pain: A Preliminary Examination

“…A potentially important factor in the pediatric context is parental perceptions of injustice, as research shows that parental coping is related, both behaviorally and genetically, to children/adolescents pain experience and appraisal [59,64]. For example, parental pain catastrophizing has been positively associated with adolescent catastrophizing, pain-related disability, and somatic complaints [14,37,62,65].…”

Child Pain Catastrophizing Mediates the Relation Between Parent Responses to Pain and Disability in Youth With Functional Abdominal Pain

“…Parental responses (specifically protective parental responses) and pain catastrophizing have previously been examined in relation to impairment in mixed samples of youth with chronic pain conditions (10, 11, 15), school-based samples (21) and in youth with organic causes of abdominal pain, such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (12). However, examining the role of pain catastrophizing in relation to multiple parent responses (including protection, minimizing and encouragement/ monitoring) in youth with FAP has not previously been investigated.…”

“…Some research suggests that parental overprotectiveness (i.e., limiting the child’s normal activities and/or giving the child special attention secondary to pain) and/or minimizing (i.e., criticism) uniquely influence FAP-related disability (16, 18) whereas other research did not find evidence of such relationships (20). Given the tendency for pain conditions to occur in families, it is conceivable that parents’ catastrophizing may be related to the expression of disability in youth with FAP, though this research has generally focused on the role of parent catastrophizing about their own pain versus their child’s pain (17), though there are several recent exceptions (12, 21). In youth with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, parent catastrophizing about their child pain partially explained the relationship between child pain behavior and parental protective responses; however, the relationship between these factors and child impairment was not examined (12).…”

“…In youth with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, parent catastrophizing about their child pain partially explained the relationship between child pain behavior and parental protective responses; however, the relationship between these factors and child impairment was not examined (12). Yet another recent investigation has found support for the role of child pain catastrophizing underlying the association between parent catastrophizing about their child’s pain and pain related disability in a school-based sample of adolescents (21). However, it is unclear if child pain catastrophizing is related to disability in the presence of other parental responses to child pain (i.e., overprotection, criticism, or symptom monitoring) in youth with FAP.…”

Heritability of pain catastrophizing and associations with experimental pain outcomes

“…Further, both child and parental pain catastrophizing predicted children’s attention and avoidance behavior in response to an experimental pain task [14]. Similar associations have been observed among parents and adolescents [15]. A handful of studies also point to a role for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) in pain catastrophizing.…”