Abstract
A new measure of coping, the Pain Coping Questionnaire (PCQ), is presented and validated in two studies of children and adolescents. Factor analyses of data from healthy children and adolescents supported eight hypothesized subscales (information seeking, problem solving, seeking social support, positive self-statements, behavioral distraction, cognitive distraction, externalizing, internalizing/catastrophizing) and three higher- order scales (approach, problem-focused avoidance, emotion-focused avoidance). The subscales and higher-order scales were internally consistent. The pain coping scales were correlated in the expected directions with children's appraisals of pain controllability, self-rated coping effectiveness, emotional distress when in pain, and among high school students, pain thresholds and functional disability. The structure and internal consistency of the PCQ were replicated in a sample of children and adolescents experiencing recurrent pain (headache, arthritis), and their parents. Relations between child- and parent-ratings of children's coping were moderate (median r = 0.34). Higher levels of emotion-focused avoidance were related to more emotional distress (both samples), less coping effectiveness (headache sample), and higher levels of pain (arthritis sample). Higher levels of approach coping were related to less disability (headache sample). Other relations between approach and distraction coping and the outcome variables were generally not significant. The PCQ is a promising instrument for assessing children's pain coping strategies. The items are simple and relatively few, making it useful for assessing coping across a wide age range. It can be administered to children as young as 8 years of age in approximately 15 min.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 83-96 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Pain |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 1998 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was supported in part by a grant from the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital Foundation (451). G.J.R. was supported by an IWK-Grace Health Centre Foundation postdoctoral fellowship and by an unrestricted grant from Bristol Myers Squibb to P.J.McG. at the time these studies were conducted. The authors would like to thank Heather Chipuer, Mary-Lou Ellerton, and Judith Ritchie for their input in early stages of this project and Carol Camfield, Peter Camfield, Christine Chambers, William Chaplin, G. Allen Finley, Julie Goodman, Joel Katz, and Susan Sweet for their comments on drafts of the manuscript. Thanks are also extended to all those who participated in rating the initial items for this questionnaire; to the students and staff at St. Francis Elementary, Cornwallis Junior High, and Chester High Schools; to the children and support staff of the Neurology and Rheumatology clinics at the IWK-Grace Health Centre; and to Carol Camfield, Peter Camfield, Joseph Dooley, Kevin Gordon, Bianca Lang, Tracy Brown, and Elizabeth Currie for their valuable assistance with data collection. Portions of this paper were presented at the Third International Symposium on Pediatric Pain, Philadelphia, PA, June 6–9, 1994.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine