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
. 2011 Jan;36(1):74-83.
doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsq058. Epub 2010 Jul 23.

Dispositional versus episode-specific assessment of children's coping with pain

Kezia C Shirkey  1 , Craig A Smith, Lynn S Walker
Affiliations

Dispositional versus episode-specific assessment of children's coping with pain

Kezia C Shirkey et al. J Pediatr Psychol. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the relation between dispositional and episode-specific pain coping measures, the variability of episode-specific pain coping over time, and the utility of dispositional versus episode-specific measures of pain coping in predicting outcomes in pediatric patients with chronic abdominal pain (CAP).

Method: Participants (N = 116) completed a clinic interview, a week of daily diary interviews, and 3-month follow-up questionnaires. Daily coping reports were averaged and compared to dispositional coping reports. Coping reports were used to predict depressive symptoms, somatic symptoms, and functional disability at follow-up.

Results: Dispositional pain coping measures significantly correlated with averaged episode-specific measures. Passive coping predicted higher levels of all outcome variables. The averaged episode-specific passive coping measure was a stronger predictor than a dispositional measure. Measures of active and accommodative coping were not significant predictors.

Conclusions: Assessment of coping with specific pain episodes may enhance understanding of pain coping.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Berg C A, Meegan S P, Deviney F P. A social-contextual model of coping with everyday problems across the lifespan. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 1998;22:239–261.
    1. Burger J M, Huntzinger R M. Temporal effects on attributions of one's own behavior: The role of task outcome. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 1985;21:247–261.
    1. Claar R L, Walker L S. Functional assessment of pediatric pain patients: Psychometric properties of the Functional Disability Inventory. Pain. 2006;121:77–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dixon W J, Yuen K K. Trimming and winsorization: A review. Statistical Papers. 1974;15:157–170.
    1. Folkman S, Lazarus RS, Gruen R J, DeLongis A. Appraisal, coping, health status, and psychological symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1986;50:571–579. - PubMed

Publication types