The Shroud: Ways Adolescents Manage Living With Parental Chronic Pain

Exploring communication in families affected by parental chronic pain: An occupational perspective

BACKGROUND

Family communication about pain is an important therapeutic target when a parent lives with chronic pain. Occupational therapy literature about communication in families affected by parental chronic pain is currently lacking.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES

To bring an occupational perspective to communication within families affected by parental chronic pain, to generate insights for practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Five families (total n = 19 family members) were recruited into this collective case study. The gathered data included interviews, observations, and personal documents/artefacts. A cross-case analysis of similarities and differences between families was conducted to distil insights about the relationship between occupation and communication about parental pain.

RESULTS

Each family develops its own style of communicating about a parent's pain. On a day-to-day basis, pain-related communication is prompted by experienced, observed and/or anticipated occupational disruption brought about by parental pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Occupational disruption and occupational responses need to be components of interest, when designing assessments and interventions targeted at communication in families affected by parental chronic pain.

SIGNIFICANCE

The findings from this study point to the importance of communication through occupation in families affected by parental chronic pain and suggest novel targets for occupational therapy intervention.

'I have cried a lot': a qualitative study on children experiencing severe parental illness

BACKGROUND

A considerable body of research has explored implications of severe parental illness on children. However, less is known about what children and adolescents with a severely ill parent experience as the most challenging.

AIMS

To describe what children with a severely ill parent experience as their most difficult challenge.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive design with a manifest content analysis was used on data from a cross-sectional, multicenter study on children of patients in five Norwegian Health trusts. Data consisted of written textual responds from 238 children (age 8-18) to one open-ended question in a self-report questionnaire.

RESULTS

The overall theme concerning the children's most difficult challenge was named 'the drama of life unfoldment', reflecting the parental illness' impact on themselves, their relationships with others, and their life circumstances. The subthemes consisted of: Children's experiences of difficult thoughts and feelings; negatively impaired relationship with parents, friends and others; and challenging life events and obstacles in welfare.

CONCLUSIONS

The most difficult challenge experienced by the children with a severely ill parent implies life unfoldment challenges and include negative personal and relational impact, challenging life events and obstacles in welfare.

Testing the intergenerational model of transmission of risk for chronic pain from parents to their children: an empirical investigation of social transmission pathways

Children of parents with chronic pain have higher rates of pain and internalizing (eg, anxiety and depressive) symptoms than children of parents without chronic pain. Parental modeling of pain behaviour and reinforcement of child pain have been hypothesized to underlie these relationships. These mechanisms were tested in a sample of 72 parents with chronic pain and their children (aged 8-15 years). Standardized measures were completed by parents (pain characteristics, pain interference, and child internalizing) and children (pain catastrophizing, pain over previous 3 months, and internalizing). In a laboratory session, children completed the cold pressor task in the presence of their parent, and parent-child verbalizations were coded. Significant indirect effects of parental pain interference on child self-reported (B = 0.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01-0.29) and parent-reported (B = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03-0.40) internalizing symptoms through child pain catastrophizing were found (parental modeling mechanism), and were not moderated by child chronic pain status. Significant indirect effects were found between parent pain-attending verbalizations and child self-reported (B = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.03-5.31) and parent-reported (B = 2.18, 95% CI: 0.93-4.27) cold pressor task pain intensity and tolerance (B = -1.02, 95% CI: -1.92 to -0.42) through child pain-attending verbalizations (parental reinforcement mechanism). Although further understanding of the temporal relationships between these variables is needed, the current study identifies constructs (eg, parent pain interference, child pain catastrophizing, and parent reinforcement of child pain) that should be further examined as potential targets for prevention and intervention of pain and internalizing symptoms in children of parents with chronic pain.

Facilitating open family communication when a parent has chronic pain: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

When a parent has chronic pain, family communication can become strained. Clinicians are encouraged to identify and support families struggling with open communication. Occupational therapists are commonly involved in the provision of pain management services but their role in facilitating open communication in families affected by this condition has not been clearly articulated.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a comprehensive understanding of what is being done and/or thought to be helpful for facilitating open communication in families affected by chronic pain, in order to articulate the role of occupational therapy in this area of care.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted and 24 items analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The facilitation of open communication in families affected by parental chronic pain is dependent on a variety of factors, including the skills that members possess and occupations which they perform individually and together. It can also be prompted by relationship tension or a family accessing professional support. Occupational therapy literature on the matter is currently limited and focused on assertiveness training.

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE

There is scope for occupational therapist to extend their role beyond assertiveness training and use occupation-centered interventions to facilitate communication within families affected by parental chronic pain.

Offspring of parents with chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of pain, health, psychological, and family outcomes

Offspring of parents with chronic pain may be at risk for poorer outcomes than offspring of healthy parents. The objective of this research was to provide a comprehensive mixed-methods systematic synthesis of all available research on outcomes in offspring of parents with chronic pain. A systematic search was conducted for published articles in English examining pain, health, psychological, or family outcomes in offspring of parents with chronic pain. Fifty-nine eligible articles were identified (31 population-based, 25 clinical, 3 qualitative), including offspring from birth to adulthood and parents with varying chronic pain diagnoses (eg, mixed pain samples, arthritis). Meta-analysis was used to synthesize the results from population-based and clinical studies, while meta-ethnography was used to synthesize the results of qualitative studies. Increased pain complaints were found in offspring of mothers and of fathers with chronic pain and when both parents had chronic pain. Newborns of mothers with chronic pain were more likely to have adverse birth outcomes, including low birthweight, preterm delivery, caesarian section, intensive care admission, and mortality. Offspring of parents with chronic pain had greater externalizing and internalizing problems and poorer social competence and family outcomes. No significant differences were found on teacher-reported externalizing problems. The meta-ethnography identified 6 key concepts (developing independence, developing compassion, learning about health and coping, missing out, emotional health, and struggles communicating with parents). Across study designs, offspring of parents with chronic pain had poorer outcomes than other offspring, although the meta-ethnography noted some constructive impact of having a parent with chronic pain.

"It didn't kill me. It just made me stronger and wiser": Silver Linings for Children and Adolescents of Parents with Chronic Pain

Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) is a disease that affects adults in their child-rearing years and is often incurable and of indefinite duration. Children and adolescents who live with parental CNCP can endure multiple adversities and experience subsequent emotional and somatic difficulties. Resilience is the ability to overcome adversity and even experience growth. This study is a secondary analysis of qualitative data, which sought to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which children and adolescents rebound and grow from experiences living with parents who suffer with CNCP. Young adult children (N=30) of parents with CNCP were interviewed. Content analysis yielded five ways in which their experiences led to areas of positive growth: (a) expanded ways of understanding; (b) cultivated a strong character; (c) aided in the development of important skills; (d) instilled a commitment to live well, and; (e) nurtured spirituality. Clinicians who work with children and adolescents whose parents are disabled with CNCP can create environments that foster resilience and serve as a guide by helping these youth recognize potentials that have not yet been actualized and promoting positive change and growth over time.

The forgotten ones: challenges and needs of children living with disabling parental chronic pain

A qualitative study explored the challenges and needs of children living with parental chronic pain. Young adult children (n=30) of parents with chronic pain were interviewed. Parents (n=20) with chronic pain participated in four focus groups. Content analysis yielded five categories of child challenges: (a) understanding the big picture; (b) enduring hardships; (c) grieving losses; (d) communicating with parent, and; (e) isolating self from peers. Three categories of child needs emerged: (a) knowledge; (b) skills, and; (c) supervised interaction. Understanding these challenges and needs is a vital step in the process of developing evidence-based interventions for this at-risk group.