Examining the Intergenerational Cascade from Parent Adverse Childhood Experiences to Child Chronic Pain: The Mediating Roles of Parent Chronic Pain and PTSD Symptoms
Date
2020-09-19
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Abstract
Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; exposure to abuse, neglect, household dysfunction as a child) are common and associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Emerging research suggests ACEs can also confer risk for the next generation. Indeed, parent ACEs have been found to relate to children’s general health, development, and psychosocial functioning. Research has yet to examine ACEs among parents of youth with chronic pain. Parent ACEs may play an important role in pediatric chronic pain, given their association with physical (e.g., parent chronic pain) and mental (e.g., parent PTSD) health conditions that are related to the functioning of youth with chronic pain. The current study sought to examine the relation between parent ACEs and child chronic pain as well as the potential mediating roles of parent chronic pain and PTSD symptoms in this relation. Methods: Parent-child dyads were recruited from tertiary-level pediatric chronic pain clinics in Canada. At baseline, parents completed self-report measures of exposure to ACEs, chronic pain status, and current PTSD symptoms. At 3-month follow-up, youth completed self-report measures of pain intensity and pain interference. The final sample included 195 youth with chronic pain (75.9% female, Mage = 14.39 years) and one of their parents (92.3% female, Mage = 44.91 years). Results: Over two-thirds (67.7%) of parents reported one or more ACEs and almost one-quarter (22.1%) reported four or more ACEs. Parent ACEs (total score, maltreatment score, and household dysfunction score) were related to parent chronic pain status but not parent PTSD symptoms. Moreover, parent ACEs were not related to youth pain outcomes either directly or indirectly through parent chronic pain or PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: These findings suggest that ACEs are prevalent among parents of youth seeking treatment for their chronic pain but are not directly related to the youth’s pain or impairment. Further research that examines the role of parent ACEs in the development of child chronic pain as well as other potential mediators of this association is needed to inform interventions that prevent the intergenerational transmission of risk for chronic pain.
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Keywords
ACEs, Maltreatment, Household dysfunction, Pediatric pain, Trauma
Citation
Beveridge, J. (2020). Examining the Intergenerational Cascade from Parent Adverse Childhood Experiences to Child Chronic Pain: The Mediating Roles of Parent Chronic Pain and PTSD Symptoms (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.