Vervoort T, Goubert L, Eccleston C, Bijttebier P, Crombez G, et al.
Journal of pediatric psychology. Date of publication 2006 Aug 1;volume 31(7):674-83.
1. J Pediatr Psychol. 2006 Aug;31(7):674-83. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsj059. Epub
2005 Aug 10.
Catastrophic thinking about pain is independently associated with pain severity,
disability, and somatic complaints in school children and children with chronic
pain.
Vervoort T(1), Goubert L, Eccleston C, Bijttebier P, Crombez G.
Author information:
(1)Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University,
Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. tine.vervoort@ugent.be
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of pain catastrophizing in explaining pain,
disability, and somatic complaints, beyond negative affectivity (NA).
METHOD: Two cross-sectional studies, one in a sample of school children (n =
193) and a second in a clinical sample of children with recurrent or chronic
pain (n = 43), were conducted. In both studies, measures of pain catastrophizing
and NA were examined for their ability to explain pain, disability, and somatic
complaints.
RESULTS: In both studies, pain catastrophizing significantly accounted for the
variance of pain, disability, and somatic complaints, beyond the effects of age,
sex, and NA. Furthermore, pain catastrophizing significantly mediated the
relationship between NA and somatic complaints in both studies and between NA
and functional disability in study 1.
CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the importance of assessing for pain
catastrophizing in children. Pain catastrophizing is further discussed in terms
of communicating distress to significant others.
DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsj059
PMID: 16093515 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
