The Parent Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (PPFQ): Item Reduction and Validation in a Clinical Sample of Swedish Parents of Children with Chronic Pain

The association between parent mental health and pediatric chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Mental health problems are common among parents of children with chronic pain and associated with worse outcomes for the child with chronic pain. However, the effect sizes of these associations between parent mental health and pediatric chronic pain vary widely across studies. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to generate pooled estimates of the (1) prevalence of mental health problems among parents of children with chronic pain and (2) associations between parent mental health and the (2a) presence of child chronic pain and (2b) functioning of children with chronic pain. Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched up to November 2022. Observational studies that examined symptoms or diagnoses of parent anxiety, depression, or general distress and the presence of child chronic pain and/or related functioning were included. From 32,848 records, 2 coders identified 49 studies to include in random-effects meta-analyses. The results revealed that mental health problems among parents of children with chronic pain were common (anxiety: 28.8% [95% CI 20.3-39.1]; depression: 20.0% [15.7-25.2]; general distress: 32.4% [22.7-44.0]). Poorer parent mental health was significantly associated with the presence of chronic pain (anxiety: OR = 1.91 [1.51-2.41]; depression: OR = 1.90 [1.51-2.38]; general distress: OR = 1.74 [1.47-2.05]) and worse related functioning (ie, pain intensity, physical functioning, anxiety and depression symptoms; r s = 0.10-0.25, all P s < 0.05) in children. Moderator analyses were generally nonsignificant or could not be conducted because of insufficient data. Findings support the importance of addressing parent mental health in the prevention and treatment of pediatric chronic pain.

Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Nutrition Workshop for Parents of Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Initial Effectiveness

Parents of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are important members of their healthcare team and influence their child’s adaptation to disease. The primary aim of this research was to test the feasibility and acceptability of a three-session online parent workshop based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and address concerns about eating well and nutrition in IBD. The secondary aim was to explore the initial effectiveness of this workshop in parent reported psychological flexibility, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, valued living, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. We used a single arm pragmatic prospective study design with parents of children attending the IBD program at a tertiary pediatric healthcare centre in Canada. Mixed methods patient reported outcomes were measured at baseline, immediate post participation, and 3 months post participation in the workshop. Thirty-seven parents enrolled in the study and feasibility and acceptability goals were largely met. Parents qualitatively described changes to their parenting, what aspects of the workshop were most helpful, and targeted feedback on how to improve workshop. Findings suggest that providing parents of children with IBD a brief online ACT workshop including nutrition guidance is feasible and leads to changes in parenting behaviours.

Something Else Going On? Diagnostic Uncertainty in Children with Chronic Pain and Their Parents

Diagnostic uncertainty, the perceived lack of an accurate explanation of the patient's health problem, remains relatively unstudied in children. This study examined the prevalence, familial concordance, and correlates of diagnostic uncertainty in children and their parents presenting to a multidisciplinary pain clinic in the United States. One hundred and twenty-six parents and 91 of their children (Mage = 13.93 years, range = 8-18 years) completed a brief three-item measure of diagnostic uncertainty, as well as measures of pain-related distress and functioning. Forty-eight percent of children and 37% of parents believed something else was going on with the child's pain that doctors had not found out about yet. Across the three items, 66%-77% of children and their parents agreed in their endorsement of diagnostic uncertainty. Parents who believed that something else was going on with their child's pain had children with higher avoidance of pain-related activities (F = 5.601, p = 0.020) and lower pain willingness (F = 4.782, p = 0.032). Neither parent nor child diagnostic uncertainty was significantly related to the child's pain-related functioning. Diagnostic uncertainty, particularly in parents, is relevant in the experience of pediatric chronic pain and warrants further investigation as both a risk factor and therapeutic target.

Evaluation of an Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Adolescents With Chronic Pain and Their Parents: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial

Objective

Parental factors are central in the development and maintenance of chronic pain in youths. Only a handful of studies have investigated the impact of psychological treatments for pediatric chronic pain on parental factors, and the relationships between changes in parental and adolescent factors. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of an intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for adolescents with chronic pain, on adolescent and parental variables, and the relationship between parental psychological flexibility and adolescent pain acceptance.

Methods

Adolescents (N = 164) with chronic pain were included, with a mean age of 15.5 years, and completed the 3-week treatment with an accompanying parent (N = 164). Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze change over time (from pretreatment to 3-month follow-up) on parent (depression, health-related quality of life and parent psychological flexibility) and adolescent (physical, social and emotional functioning, and adolescent pain acceptance) variables. Additionally, linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the relationship between parent psychological flexibility and adolescent pain acceptance.

Results

Results illustrated significant improvements over time in depressive symptoms and levels of psychological flexibility in parents. Excluding social development, adolescents improved significantly in all assessed aspects of functioning and pain acceptance. Additionally, changes in parent psychological flexibility were significantly associated with changes in adolescent pain acceptance.

Conclusions

Results indicated that treatment had positive effects for parents and adolescents, and a significant positive relationship between changes in parent psychological flexibility and adolescent pain acceptance was found.

Adolescent and Parent Experiences of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Pediatric Chronic Pain: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Pediatric chronic pain is common and can be related to reduced functioning in many domains for the young person and their parents. Existing psychological treatments such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) have shown to be effective, but improvements are needed. Qualitative approaches can help improve our understanding of treatment processes and outcomes. The aim of the present qualitative interview study was to explore the lived experiences of young people and parents who had participated in ACT for pediatric chronic pain. Four young persons and four parents were interviewed, and data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three themes were generated, each comprising two subthemes: (1) 'Warning system', which included experiences from being offered this psychological intervention, and the alternative explanations provided for pain; (2) 'Change and challenges', which suggested the importance of the values-based work, and of individual adaptation; and (3) 'A common language' in which the interaction with others and new ways to communicate around the pain experience were described. Findings highlight the importance of pain education, formulating and acting in line with personal values, and communication around the pain experience, as well as the need for developmental and individual adaptations of interventions.

Parent psychological flexibility in the context of pediatric pain: Brief assessment and associations with parent behaviour and child functioning

BACKGROUND

The parent's role in the context of pediatric chronic pain is essential. There is growing evidence that parent psychological flexibility positively impacts child functioning. To assess parents' abilities to respond with psychological flexibility to their child's pain, the Parent Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (PPFQ) was developed. Here, we aim to validate the 10-item version of the questionnaire in an English-speaking population and to evaluate associations with parent behaviour, child pain acceptance and functioning.

METHODS

Five hundred and seventy-eight parent-child dyads presenting at a pediatric pain clinic were included (92% mothers, average child age 15.2 ± 1.6 years). The PPFQ was completed by the parent. Parent and child also completed other standardized questionnaires. In addition to confirmatory factor analysis and assessments of reliability and validity of the PPFQ-10, a mediation analysis was performed to examine the direct and indirect effects of parent psychological flexibility on child functioning.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor model with subscales for Values-Based Action, Pain Willingness and Emotional Acceptance, and the PPFQ-10 demonstrated strong psychometric properties. After controlling for child pain, parent psychological flexibility indirectly affected child functioning through its association with both parent behaviour (i.e., protectiveness) and child pain acceptance.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide further support for use of the PPFQ-10 and the importance of assessing and addressing parent psychological flexibility in the context of child chronic pain. Our data show that parent psychological flexibility has an important adaptive role and can impact child functioning through two different routes, both of which can be actively targeted in treatment.

SIGNIFICANCE

Our findings demonstrate that the PPFQ-10 is an efficient measure of parent psychological flexibility, demonstrating strong psychometric properties. Furthermore, our analyses showed that parent psychological flexibility indirectly affects child functioning through associations with both adaptive parent behaviour and child functioning. Taken together, this study furthers the understanding of how parent psychological flexibility operates and affects children with chronic pain, and may inform and optimize treatments aimed at improving functioning by addressing child and parent coping.

Psychometric Properties of the Reduced Version of the Glaucoma Treatment Compliance Assessment Tool (GTCAT)

PURPOSE

To measure the psychometric properties of a reduced, 27-statement version of the Glaucoma Treatment Compliance Assessment Tool (GTCAT).

METHODS

We administered the GTCAT to 183 participants who were using a single bottle of an ocular hypotensive agent, and objectively measured adherence with Medication Event Monitoring System devices over 60 days. Adherence was the number of days with correctly timed bottle openings divided by the total number of study days. Using the 47-statement GTCAT, we created a reduced GTCAT by removing statements that: (1) did not load using Principal Components Analysis (PCA); (2) did not have a univariable association with adherence; or (3) were highly correlated (.75 or higher) with another statement. We assessed the construct validity of the remaining statements using PCA and assessed the predictive validity using multiple logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

We removed 20 statements because they did not appear in the PCA analysis; were not predictive of adherence; and/or had high correlation. PCA of the reduced GTCAT (27 statements) extracted 5 components of the Health Belief Model (knowledge, susceptibility, cues-to-action, self-efficacy, and barriers). Multiple regression showed that the 27 statements predicted adherence (Rsq = .11, p = .03).

CONCLUSIONS

The reduced version of the GTCAT is associated with adherence, which suggests that after external validation, future glaucoma medication adherence studies could use the reduced version to efficiently measure health behaviors and determine the benefit of the GTCAT to develop personalized interventions in glaucoma adherence.

A Clinical Pilot Study of Individual and Group Treatment for Adolescents with Chronic Pain and Their Parents: Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Functioning

Pediatric chronic pain is common and can result in substantial long-term disability. Previous studies on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) have shown promising results in improving functioning in affected children, but more research is still urgently needed. In the current clinical pilot study, we evaluated an ACT-based interdisciplinary outpatient intervention (14 sessions), including a parent support program (four sessions). Adolescents were referred to the clinic if they experienced disabling chronic pain. They were then randomized, along with their parents, to receive group (n = 12) or individual (n = 18) treatment. Adolescent pain interference, pain reactivity, depression, functional disability, pain intensity and psychological flexibility, along with parent anxiety, depression, pain reactivity and psychological flexibility were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. There were no significant differences in outcomes between individual and group treatment. Analyses illustrated significant (p < 0.01) improvements (medium to large effects) in pain interference, depression, pain reactivity and psychological flexibility post-treatment. Additionally, analyses showed significant (p < 0.01) improvements (large effects) in parent pain reactivity and psychological flexibility post-treatment. On all significant outcomes, clinically-significant changes were observed for 21%–63% of the adolescents across the different outcome measures and in 54%–76% of the parents. These results support previous findings and thus warrant the need for larger, randomized clinical trials evaluating the relative utility of individual and group treatment and the effects of parental interventions.