ConclusionsConclusions These results suggest that the relationship between mother

pain catastrophizing and the provision of negative attention and activity restriction may be affected by level of family functioning.

One possible explanation for these findings is that in lower functioning families, mothers higher on pain catastrophizing are more likely to display negative attention and activity restriction in response to their child’s pain

Furthermore, mothers in higher functioning families who show similar rates of pain catastrophizing may have more resources and are less likely to show these negative social consequences.

Follow-up post-hoc analyses are needed to examine the significance and direction of these interactions.

Future DirectionsFuture Directions Routine assessment of family functioning can help clinicians

predict how mothers’ thoughts about their children’s pain may contribute to the factors that lead to symptom maintenance.

MethodsMethodsParticipants 301 Youth (4-19 years; 66% female) were referred to an

outpatient pain clinic at a large Midwestern children’s hospital. See Table 1 below for additional demographic information.

ResultsResultsPain catastrophizing was significantly related to all four subscales on the SCP: positive attention, negative attention, activity restriction and privileges (Step 1 in Table 2).

Controlling for pain catastrophizing, family functioning significantly predicted all four social consequences of pain (positive attention, activity restriction, negative attention, and privileges (Step 2 in Table 2).

The interaction between pain catastrophizing and family functioning was significantly related to activity restriction and negative attention, but not to positive attention and privileges. (Step 3 in Table 2).

BackgroundBackground Raising a child with chronic pain has been associated with

greater parenting stress (Eccleston et al., 2004), impaired social functioning and personal strain (Hunfeld et al., 2001).

Parents’ catastrophic thinking about their child’s pain has been shown to significantly explain parent distress and child disability beyond child pain intensity (Goubert et al., 2006).

Social consequences such as parent attention and staying home from school, have been shown to influence symptom maintenance in children with chronic pain (Walker et al., 2002).

This study examines the moderating role of family functioning on the relationship between parent pain catastrophizing and the provision of social consequences of pain.

Specifically, parent pain catastrophizing is hypothesized to be associated with social consequences of pain, dependent upon level of family functioning.

Jessica M. Joseph1, Katherine Simon1, Kathryn S. Holman1, Kimberly A. Khan2, Renee Ladwig3, Keri R. Hainsworth2, W. Hobart Davies1,3, & Steven J. Weisman2,3

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee1, Medical College of Wisconsin2, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin3

Mean SD

Child Age (years) 13.59 2.93

PercentageEthnicity Caucasian 76.0%

African American 9.2%

Latino 3.3% Asian 1.0%

Biracial 6.2%

Table 1: Demographic Information

Procedure All measures were completed by the patients’ mothers prior to

or at their intake appointment as part of standard clinic procedure.

Variables R2 β t PPositive Attention F(3, 228) = 38.38, p <.001

Step 1 PCS 0.25 0.50 8.77 .000**Step 2 FIM 0.32 -0.33 -5.00 .000**Step 3 PCS*FIM 0.34 0.11 1.97 .050

Activity Restriction F(3, 228) = 43.43 p <.001Step 1 PCS 0.14 0.38 6.15 .000**Step 2 FIM 0.34 -0.54 -8.37 .000**Step 3 PCS*FIM 0.36 0.15 2.77 .006**

Negative Attention F(3,228) = 13.99, p <.001Step 1 PCS 0.00 0.06 0.83 .407Step 2 FIM 0.14 -0.44 -5.93 .000**Step 3 PCS*FIM 0.16 0.15 2.31 .022*

Privileges F(3,228) = 32.43, p <.001Step 1 PCS 0.17 0.42 6.93 .000**Step 2 FIM 0.30 -0.43 -6.40 .000**Step 3 PCS*FIM 0.30 -0.03 -0.49 .622

Table 2: Family Functioning Moderator Analyses

PCS: Pain Catastrophizing; FIM: Family Functioning*p< 0.05, **p<0.01

Corresponding Author: Jessica M. Joseph, B.A. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2441 E. Hartford Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53211Phone: (414)-229-2932

Email address: josephjm@uwm.eduPoster presented at the 2008 Kansas Conference in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology: Translating Research into Practice, Lawrence, KS