A typology of pain coping strategies in pediatric patients with chronic abdominal pain

Abstract

This study aimed to identify clinically meaningful profiles of pain coping strategies used by youth with chronic abdominal pain (CAP). Participants (n = 699) were pediatric patients (ages 8-18 years) and their parents. Patients completed the Pain Response Inventory (PRI) and measures of somatic and depressive symptoms, disability, pain severity and pain efficacy, and perceived competence. Parents rated their children's pain severity and coping efficacy. Hierarchical cluster analysis based on the 13 PRI subscales identified pain coping profiles in Sample 1 (n = 311) that replicated in Sample 2 (n = 388). Evidence was found of external validity and distinctiveness of the profiles. The findings support a typology of pain coping that reflects the quality of patients' pain mastery efforts and interpersonal relationships associated with pain coping. Results are discussed in relation to developmental processes, attachment styles, and treatment implications.

Identifying Coping Profiles and Profile Differences in Role Engagement and Subjective Well-Being

“…Walker et al [14] identified six coping profiles in examining coping with pain by using cluster analysis: 'infrequent', 'self-reliant', 'engaged', 'inconsistent', 'avoidant', and 'dependent'. 'Infrequent' copers rarely used any of the pain-coping strategies.…”

“…'Low generic high integrated' copers used high levels of diabetes integration and low levels of all other coping strategies. Only one common coping profile was identified in both these studies: the group of 'passive/avoidant' copers [9,14].…”

“…Even though our method of analysis (LPA) was data driven, signifying that it is difficult to set precise hypotheses, some hypotheses were posed on the basis of coping theories [4,17,18] and the empirical findings presented above on person-oriented coping studies [9,10,11,14]. We expected (Hypothesis 1) to find at least two coping profiles in our data: one group in which active coping strategies (accommodation, symptom reduction, situation changing, and devaluation) are more often used (Group 1) and a second group in which passive (in the present case avoidant) coping strategies are more typical (Group 2).…”

“…Earlier studies on coping profiles/typologies have concerned either clinical populations [9,14] or adolescents [10,11] but no published study has examined 'healthy' workers from this perspective. However, coping is most likely a critical health-promoting resource also for normal, healthy workers [15,16].…”

Chronic Pain Assessment Tools for Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review

“…[26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Further, barriers to assessment stem from a lack of awareness among health professionals of psychometrically sound tools and/or a lack of standardization within organizations for routine chronic pain assessment. [32][33][34] Although previous reviews have identified measures to inform clinical practice, the application to children with disabilities is lacking. [27][28][29][30][31]35,36 Therefore, the primary aim of this review was to identify, describe, and critique pediatric chronic pain assessment tools currently available and make recommendations for clinical use for children with CP.…”