title: The relationship between parental attitudes and behaviours in the context of paediatric chronic pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Within the context of paediatric chronic pain, parental attitudes are of particular importance given that they have the potential to impact on how parents respond to their child. The current study was designed to assess whether parental attitudes, such as parental confidence and beliefs in their child's ability to function in spite of pain, and parental catastrophising about their child's pain, are associated with parental pain-related behaviours known to be associated with poor child outcomes, such as protectiveness and high levels of monitoring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 138 child-parent dyads recruited from a tertiary chronic pain clinic. Patients were aged 8- to 17-years. Prior to the initial clinic appointment, parents completed validated measures of parental pain catastrophising and parental responses to their child's pain. Patients completed measures of functional disability and pain intensity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents who reported lower confidence in their child's ability to cope with the pain engaged in significantly more protective, monitoring and distracting behaviours, even when controlling for the child's recent level of functioning. They also took more days off work due to their child's pain. Parents who catastrophised more about their child's pain engaged in significantly more protective and monitoring behaviours, even when controlling for the child's recent level of functioning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental behaviours in response to their child's pain are significantly related to parental confidence in their child's coping and parental pain-related catastrophising. Clinical interventions may benefit from addressing parental attitudes, especially their confidence in their child's ability to function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain and Palliative Care, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.|School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jaaniste
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain and Palliative Care, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.|School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain and Palliative Care, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.|School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain and Palliative Care, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.|School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Goodison-Farnsworth
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain and Palliative Care, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.|School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain and Palliative Care, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D058443:Catastrophization / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: attitude; behaviour; children; chronic pain; parents