[Parental responses to child pain : The role of parental and child somatic and anxiety symptoms].

BACKGROUND

Parental cognitive-affective and behavioural responses impact on the chronification of the child's pain. Whether mothers and fathers differ in their responses and whether top-down variables (parental somatization, anxiety symptoms) and bottom-up variables (child's pain-related disability, anxiety symptoms) impact on parental responses remains unresolved.

OBJECTIVES

(1) A comparison of maternal and paternal somatization, anxiety, symptoms and their responses (parental catastrophizing, solicitousness) to children with chronic pain; (2) an analysis of the impact of top-down variables (parental somatization, anxiety symptoms) and bottom-up variables (child's pain-related disability, anxiety symptoms) on parental maladaptive responses.

METHODS

Pediatric chronic pain and anxiety symptoms, parental somatization and anxiety symptoms, as well as parental responses in N =21 parent-child triads (child, mother, father; N = 21 each, total-N = 63; children: 50% female, 11-19 years, ∅15.14 years) were assessed via validated questionnaires during child and adolescent psychiatric treatment for child chronic pain.

RESULTS

Mothers and fathers did not differ in somatization, anxiety symptoms and responses. Parental catastrophizing was higher if the child suffered from anxiety symptoms and from pain-related disability. Parental solicitousness was higher if parents reported more own anxiety symptoms. Younger children and girls received more solicitous responses.

CONCLUSION

As shown by previous studies, parental and child anxiety symptoms, but not parental gender, play a pivotal role in modulating parental maladaptive pain-related responses. This should be taken into account in prevention as well as in the treatment of children with chronic pain and their caregivers.