Chronic Pain and Anxiety in Children: Physiological and Emotional Factors in Stress Responses
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Date
2007-05-08T15:07:19Z
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Publisher
Vanderbilt University
Abstract
College of Arts & Science
The current study examined physiological and emotional factors in stress responses of 21 children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), 21 children with anxiety disorders, and 21 gender- and age-matched healthy controls. Children's heart rates were monitored as they performed two psychological stress tasks and one physical stress task. Pain intensity and tolerance were measured during the cold pressor task. Parents and children completed questionnaires to assess children's psychological and somatic symptoms and responses to social stress. Findings indicate that children with RAP and anxious children report different levels of stress reactivity and provide different pain assessments of the cold pressor task. Findings also demonstrate a positive association between physiological stress reactivity and self-reported stress reactivity and psychological symptoms. Psychological and somatic symptoms were incrementally accounted for by physiological and self-reported stress reactivity.
The current study examined physiological and emotional factors in stress responses of 21 children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), 21 children with anxiety disorders, and 21 gender- and age-matched healthy controls. Children's heart rates were monitored as they performed two psychological stress tasks and one physical stress task. Pain intensity and tolerance were measured during the cold pressor task. Parents and children completed questionnaires to assess children's psychological and somatic symptoms and responses to social stress. Findings indicate that children with RAP and anxious children report different levels of stress reactivity and provide different pain assessments of the cold pressor task. Findings also demonstrate a positive association between physiological stress reactivity and self-reported stress reactivity and psychological symptoms. Psychological and somatic symptoms were incrementally accounted for by physiological and self-reported stress reactivity.
Description
Powerpoint poster "Stress responses in children with chronic pain and anxiety" by Madeleine Jackson, Lynette Dufton, Bruce E. Compas accompanies thesis dated April 2007.
Winner, Jum C. Nunnally Honors Thesis Award (the A&S thesis award)
Keywords
Stress response, Chronic pain, Anxiety, Physiological reactivity, Recurrent abdominal pain, Stress reactivity, Pain perception, Abdominal pain in children, Stress in children, Anxiety in children, Pain in children