Children’s Forgetting of Pain-Related Memories

Marche, Tammy A.; Briere, Jennifer L.; Baeyer, Carl L. von

doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsv111

Cited by 30 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…In the context of needle procedures (e.g., lumbar punctures, anesthetic injections, vaccine injections), brief memory reframing interventions that involve discussing past painful events with children in more positive/accurate ways have been shown to reduce pain and distress at future procedures (Bruck et al, 1995; Chen et al, 1999; Noel, McMurtry, Pavlova, & Taddio, 2017; Pickrell et al, 2007). Moreover, a recent experimental study showed that having children recall positive details of a pain memory led to enhanced forgetting of the memory’s negative aspects (Marche et al, 2016). Children in this study who had a greater ability to forget negative aspects of the pain memory were less anxious prior to an experimental pain induction (cold pressor) task (Marche et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, pain memories are by nature malleable and reconstructive, particularly in childhood (Jaaniste, Noel, & von Baeyer, 2016). Therefore, children’s pain memories are an underutilized and fruitful intervention target in pain management interventions to reduce distress at future pain events (Chen, Zeltzer, Craske, & Katz, 1999; Marche, Briere, & von Baeyer, 2016; Noel, 2016). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The influence of pain memories on children’s and adolescents’ post-surgical pain experience: A longitudinal dyadic analysis.

Noel¹,

Rabbitts²,

Fales³

et al. 2017

Health Psychology

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Objective Although children’s pain memories have been shown to be a powerful predictor of subsequent pain experiences in acute procedural and experimental pain settings, little is known about the influence of children’s and parents’ pain memories on children’s future pain experiences in other painful contexts. This study used a dyadic approach to examine the roles of children’s and parents’ memories of pain on their subsequent reporting of post-surgical pain several months after the child underwent a major surgical procedure. Methods The sample included 66 parent-child dyads (Mage youth = 14.73 years, SD = 2.01) recruited from two tertiary level pediatric hospitals. At baseline, children and parents reported on their catastrophic thinking about the child’s pain. Parent and child reports of child pain were collected at approximately 1 month and 5 months post-surgery. At 2–4 months post-surgery, children’s and parents’ memories for post-surgical pain were assessed. Results Results revealed that children’s, but not parents’, pain memories were a strong predictor of subsequent pain experienced at 5 months post-surgery. Children’s and parents’ memories for pain did not influence each others’ subsequent pain reporting. Conclusions Findings suggest that children’s pain memories influence their continued recovery from post-surgical pain and may contribute to pain persistence. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of pain memories on children’s and adolescents’ post-surgical pain experience: A longitudinal dyadic analysis.

Noel¹,

Rabbitts²,

Fales³

et al. 2017

Health Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Future research should examine the impact of pain management interventions on alteration of pain memories . In light of recent experimental research showing that having children rehearse positive aspects of a pain memory leads to systematic forgetting of its negative aspects, future interventions may also involve similar strategies that prioritize selective rehearsal vs. information provision. Finally, we argue that the next frontier of pediatric pain memory research will include novel neuroimaging techniques to examine the impact of memory‐reframing interventions on brain activation and how this is related to explicit self‐report …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief Clinical Report: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis of Pain Memory‐reframing Interventions for Children's Needle Procedures

et al. 2017

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Objective: Children's pain memories play a powerful role in shaping future pain experiences. Interventions aiming to reframe children's memories of painful medical procedures hold promise for altering pain memories and improving subsequent pain experience; however, this evidence has not been synthesized. This brief clinical report includes a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing memory-reframing interventions for needle procedures in children and adolescents to stimulate future research. Methods: Database searches identified relevant randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials. Data were extracted and pooled using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) and Cochrane methodologies. Critically important outcomes included fear during a subsequent needle procedure; important outcomes included memory of fear and pain following the needle procedure and pain and distress during a subsequent needle procedure. Results: Three studies including 158 children 3 to 18 years of age were identified. The quality of evidence was low to very low. There was no benefit for the critically important outcome of anticipatory fear; however, the test for overall effect trended toward significance (P = 0.07). Memory-reframing interventions were efficacious in altering children's memories of needle procedures to be less distressing. No benefit was found for acute fear or anticipatory, acute, or overall distress. Conclusions: There are limited data suggesting that interventions that reframe children's memories of needle procedures hold promise for altering pain memories and potentially reducing anticipatory fear. High-quality intervention development work is needed to determine how these interventions can be adapted to the developing child in order to lead to lasting reductions in pain, fear, and distress at future needle procedures. &

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“…Children in the intervention versus control group reported less anticipatory distress, as well as demonstrated reduced physiological anticipatory distress (as measured by heart rate) [ 20 ]. In an observational study, Marche and colleagues used retrieval-induced forgetting to investigate children’s ability to forget the distressing aspects of past painful experiences [ 79 ]. Focusing on and repeatedly rehearsing positive aspects of a past painful event that children identified led to them forgetting distressing details of the painful experience [ 79 ].…”

Section: Parent–child Reminiscing In the Context Of Memories For Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an observational study, Marche and colleagues used retrieval-induced forgetting to investigate children’s ability to forget the distressing aspects of past painful experiences [ 79 ]. Focusing on and repeatedly rehearsing positive aspects of a past painful event that children identified led to them forgetting distressing details of the painful experience [ 79 ]. Importantly, children who had more difficulties forgetting negative aspects of the past painful events experienced more anticipatory anxiety prior to an experimental pain task (i.e., cold pressor) [ 79 ].…”

Section: Parent–child Reminiscing In the Context Of Memories For Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent–Child Reminiscing about Past Pain as a Preparatory Technique in the Context of Children’s Pain: A Narrative Review and Call for Future Research

2020

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Pain permeates childhood and remains inadequately and/or inconsistently managed. Existing research and clinical practice guidelines have largely focused on factors influencing the immediate experience of pain. The need for and benefits of preparing children for future pain (e.g., painful procedures) has been well established. Despite being a robust predictor of future pain and distress, memories of past painful experiences remain overlooked in pediatric pain management. Just as autobiographical memories prepare us for the future, children’s memories for past pain can be harnessed to prepare children for future painful experiences. Children’s pain memories are malleable and can be reframed to be less distressing, thus reducing anticipatory distress and promoting self-efficacy. Parents are powerful agents of change in the context of pediatric pain and valuable historians of children’s past painful experiences. They can alter children’s pain memories to be less distressing simply by talking, or reminiscing, about past pain. This narrative review summarizes existing research on parent–child reminiscing in the context of acute and chronic pediatric pain and argues for incorporation of parent–child reminiscing elements into preparatory interventions for painful procedures.

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Children’s Forgetting of Pain-Related Memories

Abstract: Understanding children's memory for painful experiences may help improve their pain management and coping ability.

Cited by 30 publications

References 74 publications

The influence of pain memories on children’s and adolescents’ post-surgical pain experience: A longitudinal dyadic analysis.

The influence of pain memories on children’s and adolescents’ post-surgical pain experience: A longitudinal dyadic analysis.

Brief Clinical Report: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis of Pain Memory‐reframing Interventions for Children's Needle Procedures

Parent–Child Reminiscing about Past Pain as a Preparatory Technique in the Context of Children’s Pain: A Narrative Review and Call for Future Research

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