The Sensitivity to Change and Responsiveness of the Adult Responses to Children's Symptoms in Children and Adolescents With Chronic Pain.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the sensitivity to change and responsiveness of the Adult Responses to Children's Symptoms (ARCS) among parents of youth with chronic pain.


METHODS
Participants included 330 youth (89 children aged 7-11 years, 241 children aged 12-17 years) and their parents who participated in randomized controlled trials of family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic pain. Child pain and disability, parental emotional functioning, and parental responses to child pain were assessed at baseline and posttreatment.


RESULTS
The Protect and Monitor scales of the ARCS were sensitive to change following intervention for both developmental groups, with clinically meaningful reductions in these behaviors, thereby demonstrating responsiveness. Among the adolescent sample, greater change on some ARCS scales was associated with better parental emotional functioning and lower child pain at posttreatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings support the sensitivity to change and responsiveness of the Protect and Monitor scales among parents of youth with chronic pain.
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, melanie.noel@ucalgary.ca.
Melanie
M
Noel
Center for Child Health, Behavior & Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute.
Nicole
N
Alberts
School of Social Work, University of Washington.
Shelby L
SL
Langer
School of Social Work, University of Washington.
Rona L
RL
Levy
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and.
Lynn S
LS
Walker
Center for Child Health, Behavior & Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Departments of Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine.
Tonya M
TM
Palermo
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
ARCS; adolescents; children; chronic pain; monitor; parental responses; pediatric pain; protect.