Coping skills for reducing pain and somatic symptoms in adolescents with IBD

Abstract

Background: The current study involved the development and evaluation of a skills-based, psychological intervention for adolescent females with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and their parents. Psychological interventions were used to improve coping with pain and other somatic physical symptoms, as well as improve parental responses to children and adolescents who experience such symptomatology.

Methods: Thirteen and 11 adolescent females and one of their parents made up the treatment and wait-list control groups, respectively, for a total of 24 parent-child dyads. Adolescents and parents attended a 1-day intervention that taught disease-related coping skills, pain management, relaxation techniques, communication, and limit setting (parents only). The treatment day was followed by 6 weeks of Web-based skill review including homework assignments and weekly group chat sessions.

Results: Following treatment, significant improvements were found in adolescents' somatic symptoms and adaptive coping strategies. Further, parents reported reductions in irrational thoughts and improved behavioral reactions related to their daughter's physical symptoms. Implications of these findings, as well as limitations and future directions, are discussed.

Conclusion: Overall, preliminary support suggests that programmatic psychosocial interventions for reducing physical symptoms and improving coping may be beneficial for adolescents with IBD and their families.