Journal
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 44, Issue 6, Pages 679-691Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsz009
Keywords
children; pain; parents; reminiscing; sadness
Categories
Funding
- Society of Pediatric Psychology Targeted Research Grant
- American Pain Society Future Leader in Pain Grant
- Maternal Newborn Child, and Youth Strategic Clinical Network Health Outcomes Improvement Fund
- University of Calgary Faculty of Science Seed Grant
- Vi Riddell Pediatric Pain Initiative
- Alberta Children' Hospital Research Institute
- 2017 Alberta SPOR Graduate Studentship in Patient-Oriented Research - Alberta Innovates
- 2017 Alberta SPOR Graduate Studentship in Patient-Oriented Research - Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation
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Objective Parent-child reminiscing about past negative events has been linked to a host of developmental outcomes. Previous research has identified two distinct between-parent reminiscing styles, wherein parents who are more elaborative (vs. repetitive) have children with more optimal outcomes. To date, however, research has not examined how parents and children talk about past painful experiences nor compared parent-child reminiscing about past painful versus other distressing events despite key developmental differences in how young children respond to pain versus sadness in others. This study aimed to fill that gap. Methods Seventy-eight children aged 4 to 7 years underwent a tonsillectomy. Two weeks postsurgery, children and one of their parents discussed past autobiographical events (i.e., the tonsillectomy, another painful event, a sad event). Parent-child conversations were coded using established coding schemes to capture parental reminiscing style, content, and autonomy support. Results Findings revealed robust differences in parent-child reminiscing about painful versus sad events. Parents were less elaborative, used less emotionally negative words and explanations, and were less supportive of their children's autonomy while reminiscing about past painful versus sad events. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that through reminiscing, parents may socialize children about pain in a way that is different from other distressing events (e.g., sadness). Future research should examine the influence of differential reminiscing about pain versus sadness on developmental and health outcomes.
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