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. 2012 Jan-Feb;37(1):43-52.
doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsr088. Epub 2011 Oct 27.

Emotion regulation predicts pain and functioning in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: an electronic diary study

Mark Connelly  1 , Maggie H Bromberg, Kelly K Anthony, Karen M Gil, Lindsey Franks, Laura E Schanberg
Affiliations

Emotion regulation predicts pain and functioning in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: an electronic diary study

Mark Connelly et al. J Pediatr Psychol. 2012 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: This study utilized e-diaries to evaluate whether components of emotion regulation predict daily pain and function in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

Methods: 43 children ages 8-17 years and their caregivers provided baseline reports of child emotion regulation. Children then completed thrice daily e-diary assessments of emotion, pain, and activity involvement for 28 days. E-diary ratings of negative and positive emotions were used to calculate emotion variability and to infer adaptive emotion modulation following periods of high or low emotion intensity. Hierarchical linear models were used to evaluate how emotion regulation related to pain and function.

Results: The attenuation of negative emotion following a period of high negative emotion predicted reduced pain; greater variability of negative emotion predicted higher pain and increased activity limitation. Indices of positive emotion regulation also significantly predicted pain.

Conclusions: Components of emotion regulation as captured by e-diaries predict important health outcomes in children with JIA.

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Figures

Figure I.
Figure I.
Individual differences in pain intensity across days as a function of variability of negative and positive emotions. Note. “Low” and “high” groups represent the lower and upper quartiles, respectively. Error bars represent SD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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