Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 May-Jun;30(3):521-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2008.07.012. Epub 2008 Sep 13.

Evidence of increased non-verbal behavioral signs of pain in adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and chronic self-injury

Affiliations

Evidence of increased non-verbal behavioral signs of pain in adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and chronic self-injury

Frank J Symons et al. Res Dev Disabil. 2009 May-Jun.

Abstract

The role of pain in relation to self-injurious behavior (SIB) among individuals with intellectual disabilities is not well understood. Some models of SIB are based on altered endogenous opioid system activity which could result in elevated pain thresholds. In this study, non-verbal behavioral signs indicative of pain as measured by the Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist (NCCPC) were compared between matched individuals with (N=35) and without (N=35) chronic self-injurious behavior (SIB) and neurodevelopmental disorders. Significant (p<.01) between group differences (SIB Group>Control Group) were found for the NCCPC Total Score, and for the Vocal, Social/Personality, and Eating/Sleeping subscales of the NCCPC. These results are not consistent with models of SIB in which pain sensitivity is assumed to be attenuated because of opioid system activity and are suggestive of intact and possibly amplified pain expression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean NCCPC total score between SIB and matched Control group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean NCCPC sub-scale scores between SIB and matched Control group.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Barrera FJ, Teodoro JM, Selmeci T, Madappuli A. Self-injury, pain, and the endorphin theory. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. 1994;6:169–192.
    1. Biersdorff K. Pain insensitivity and indifference: Alternative explanations for some medical catastrophes. Mental Retardation. 1991;29(6):359–362. - PubMed
    1. Biersdorff K. Incidence of significantly altered pain experience among individuals with developmental disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation. 1994;98(5):619–631. - PubMed
    1. Breau LM, Camfield CS, McGrath PJ, Finley GA. The incidence of pain in children with severe cognitive impairments. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2003;157:1219–1226. - PubMed
    1. Breau LM, Camfield CS, McGrath PJ, Finley GA. Pain’s impact on adaptive functioning. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2007;51:125–134. - PubMed

Publication types