Research on the experience of parents caring for a child with chronic pain indicates that high levels of parental role stress, feelings of frustration over an inability to help, and psychological distress are common. Moreover, parental distress adversely influences child adjustment to chronic pain. Therefore, intervening with parents of youth with chronic pain may, in turn, result in positive outcomes for children in their ability to engage in positive coping strategies, reduce their own distress, and to function competently in their normal daily lives. Our aim was to adapt an intervention, Problem-Solving Skills Training, previously proven effective in reducing parental distress in other pediatric illness conditions to the population of caregivers of youth with chronic pain. In the first phase, the intervention was adapted based on expert review of the literature and review of parent responses on a measure of pain-related family impact. In the second phase, the intervention was tested in a small group of parents to evaluate feasibility, determined by response to treatment content, ratings of acceptability, and ability to enroll and deliver the treatment visits. This phase included piloting the PSST intervention and all outcome measures at pre-treatment and immediately post-treatment. In an exploratory manner we examined change in parent distress and child physical function and depression from pre-to post-treatment. Findings from this feasibility study suggest that PSST can be implemented with parents of youth with chronic pain, and they find the treatment acceptable.
Keywordspediatric chronic pain; parents; intervention; problem solving therapy; caregiver stress Conservative estimates suggest that at least 15% of children and adolescents report chronic pain during childhood, that is, pain lasting up to 3 months (Stanford, Chambers, Biesanz, & Chen, 2008). A subgroup (i.e., 5-10% of otherwise healthy youth) report severe pain associated with functional impairment (Huguet & Miro, 2008). The consequences of chronic pain extend beyond children themselves to potentially include widespread social, relational, Corresponding author: Tonya M. Palermo, Ph.D., Seattle Children's Research Institute, M/S CW8-6, PO Box 5371, Seattle, WA 98145, USA,, tonya.palermo@seattlechildrens.org.
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Author ManuscriptClin Pract Pediatr Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 September 01.
Published in final edited form as:Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol. 2014 September ; 2(3): 212-223. doi:10.1037/cpp0000067.
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript emotional and financial impact on parents. In particular, parents report restrictions in their own lives, unwelcome dependency, marital and financial difficulties, and feelings of hopelessness (Hunfeld et al., 2002). In a clinical sample of youth with chronic pain, Eccleston, Crombez, Scotford, Clinch & Connell (2004) found that average levels of parental role stress were high, with 31% of parents reporting clinically significant di...