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The biopsychosocial model treats pain as resulting from a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. Individual differences in approaches to coping with pain-related symptoms are important determinants of pain-related outcomes, and are often classified under the ''psychological'' category within the biopsychosocial model. However, engagement in various cognitive, affective, and behavioral pain-coping strategies appears to exert biological effects, which we review here. Pain-coping activities such as catastrophizing, distracting oneself from pain sensations, or reappraisal of pain may exert effects on activity in a variety of pain-processing and pain-modulatory circuits within the brain, as well affect the functioning of neuromuscular, immune, and neuroendocrine systems. The interface between pain-related neurobiology and the use of specific pain-coping techniques represents an important avenue for future pain research.

Concordance in caregivers’ and children’s reports of children’s trauma-related symptoms is often low, and symptom discrepancies are associated with negative clinical implications. The aim of the current study was to examine the degree of concordance between children’s and caregivers’ reports of trauma-related difficulties and determine whether any child or family characteristics were associated with symptom agreement. Three hundred thirteen trauma-exposed children ( M = 9.55, SD = 1.77; 65.2% girls, 51.3% Black) and their nonoffending caregivers seeking treatment were included in the study. Children’s and caregivers’ reports of trauma-related difficulties were related, but low intraclass correlation coefficients indicated poor concordance across symptoms. Child’s gender was associated with levels of concordance for several trauma-related difficulties (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger, dissociation, and sexual concerns), with lower symptom agreement for girls. Child’s age, minority status, and relationship to caregiver emerged as factors related to levels of concordance for certain trauma-related symptoms. Child’s gender, age, minority status, and relationship to caregiver may predict symptom discordance for select trauma-related difficulties, whereas other family factors such as caregiver marital status and income may be unrelated. Given the importance of caregiver–child concordance in treatment success, additional research should investigate other factors that may influence trauma-related symptom agreement.

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