The impact of maternal child- and self-oriented pain-related injustice appraisals upon maternal attention to child pain,attention to anger,and pain-attending behavior
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online June, 2022
The impact of maternal child- and self-oriented pain-related injustice appraisals upon maternal attention to child pain,attention to anger,and pain-attending behavior
The current study investigated the role of maternal child- and self-oriented injustice appraisals about child pain in understanding maternal attention for child pain and adult anger cues and pain-attending behavior.
Methods
Forty-four children underwent a painful cold pressor task (CPT) while their mother observed. Eye tracking was used to measure maternal attention to child pain and adult anger cues. Initial attention allocation and attentional maintenance were indexed by probability of first fixation and gaze duration, respectively. Maternal pain-attending behaviors toward the child were videotaped and coded after CPT completion. Mothers also rated the intensity of pain and anger cues used in the free-viewing tasks. All analyses controlled for maternal catastrophizing about child pain.
Results
Neither child-oriented nor self-oriented injustice was associated with maternal attentional bias toward child pain. Regarding attention toward self-relevant anger cues, differential associations were observed for self- and child-oriented injustice appraisals, with maternal self-oriented injustice being associated with a greater probability of first fixating on anger and with higher anger ratings, whereas maternal child-oriented injustice was associated with enhanced attentional maintenance toward anger. Neither type of maternal injustice appraisals was associated with maternal pain-attending behavior, which was only associated with maternal catastrophizing.
Conclusions
The current study sheds light on potential differential mechanisms through which maternal self- vs. child-oriented injustice appraisals may exert their impact on parent and child pain-related outcomes. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.
PalermoTMSchwartzLDrotarD, et al. Parental report of health-related quality of life in children with sickle cell disease. J Behav Med2002, 25(3), 269–283.
2.
PalermoTMChambersCT. Parent and family factors in pediatric chronic pain and disability: An integrative approach. Pain2005, 119(3), 1–4.
MillerMMWuestDWilliamsAE, et al. Injustice perceptions about pain: parent–child discordance is associated with worse functional outcomes. Pain2018159(6), 1083–1089.
5.
BaertFMillerMMTrostZ, et al. Parental injustice appraisals in the context of child pain: Examining the construct and criterion validity of the IEQ-Pc and IEQ-Ps. J Pain2019, 21(1),195–211.
6.
SullivanMJL, et al.The role of perceived injustice in the experience of chronic pain and disability: scale development and validation. J Occup Rehab2008, 18, 249–261.
7.
TrostZVangronsveldKLintonSJ, et al. Cognitive dimensions of anger in chronic pain. Pain2012, 153(3), 515–517.
8.
GreenwoodKAThurstonRRumbleM, et al. Anger and persistent pain: current status and future directions. Pain2003, 103(1–2), 1–5.
9.
SturgeonJACarriereJSKaoM-CJ, et al. Social disruption mediates the relationship between perceived injustice and anger in chronic pain: A collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry study. Ann Behav Med2016, 50(6), 802–812.
10.
CarriereJSSturgeonJAYakobovE, et al. The impact of perceived injustice on pain-related outcomes: A combined model examining the mediating roles of pain acceptance and anger in a chronic pain sample. Clin J Pain2018, 34(8), 739–747.
11.
ScottWTrostZBernierE, et al. Anger differentially mediates the relationship between perceived injustice and chronic pain outcomes. Pain2013, 154(9), 1691–1698.
12.
TrostZVan RyckeghemDScottW, et al. The effect of perceived injustice on appraisals of physical activity: an examination of the mediating role of attention bias to pain in a chronic low back pain sample. J Pain2016, 17(11), 1207–1216.
13.
LiossiCSchothDEBradleyBP, et al. Time course of attentional bias for pain related cues in chronic daily headache sufferers. Eur J Pain2009, 13, 963–969.
14.
LangerSLRomanoJMLevyRL, et al. Catastrophizing and parental response to child symptom complaints. J Child Health Care2009, 38(3), 169–184.
15.
SullivanMJDavidsonNGarfinkelB, et al. Perceived injustice is associated with heightened pain behavior and disability in individuals with whiplash injuries. Psychol Injury L2009, 2(3–4), 238–247.
16.
CaesLVervoortTEcclestonC, et al. Parental catastrophizing about child’s pain and its relationship with activity restriction: the mediating role of parental distress. Pain2011, 152(1), 212–222.
17.
GoubertLVervoortTDe RuddereL, et al. (2012). The impact of parental gender, catastrophizing and situational threat upon parental behaviour to child pain: A vignette study. Eur J Pain2012, 16(8), 1176–1184.
18.
Lynch-JordanAMKashikar-ZuckSSzabovaA, et al. The interplay of parent and adolescent catastrophizing and its impact on adolescents’ pain, functioning and pain behavior. Clin J Pain2013, 29(8), 681–688.
19.
CaesLVervoortTDevosP, et al. Parental distress and catastrophic thoughts about child pain: Implications for parental protective behavior in the context of child leukemia related medical procedures. Clin J Pain2014, 30(9), 787–799.
20.
WalkerLSWilliamsSESmithCA, et al. Parent attention versus distraction: Impact on symptom complaints by children with and without chronic functional abdominal pain. Pain2006, 122(1–2), 43–52.
21.
SullivanMJLAdamsHMartelM-O, et al. Catastrophizing and perceived injustice: Risk factors for the transition to chronicity after whiplash injury. Spine2011, 36(25), 244–249.
22.
SullivanMJScottWTrostZ. (2012). Perceived injustice: a risk factor for problematic pain outcomes. Clin J Pain2012, 28(6), 484–488.
23.
Von BaeyerCLPiiraTChambersCT, et al. Guidelines for the Cold Pressor Task as an Experimental Pain Stimulus for Use With Children. J Pain2005, 6(4), 218–227.
24.
BirnieKAPetterMBoernerKE, et al. Contemporary use of the cold pressor task in pediatric pain research: A systematic review of methods. J Pain2012, 13, 817–826.
25.
VervoortTGoubertLCrombezG. The relationship between high catastrophizing children’s facial display of pain and parental judgment of their child’s pain. Pain2009, 142(1–2), 142–148.
26.
VervoortTTrostZVan RyckeghemDM. Children’s selective attention to pain and avoidance behaviour: the role of child and parental catastrophizing about pain. Pain2013b, 154(10), 1979–1988.
27.
VervoortTTrostZSütterlinS, et al. (2014). Emotion regulatory function of parent attention to child pain and associated implications for parental pain control behaviour. Pain2014, 155, 1453–1463.
28.
HeathcoteLCLauJYMuellerSC, et al. Child attention to pain and pain tolerance are dependent upon anxiety and attention control: An eye-tracking study. Eur J Pain2017, 21(2), 250–263.
29.
ChambersCTMcGrathPJGilbertCA, et al, 1996. Child Facial Coding System - Revised Manual. IWK-Grace Health Centre, Dalhousie University & University of British Columbia, Halifax, NS, Canada.
30.
VervoortTCaesLCrombezG, et al. Parental catastrophizing about children’s pain and selective attention to varying levels of facial expression of pain in children: A dot-probe study. Pain2011, 152, 1751–1757.
31.
EkmanPFriesenW. Investigator’s Guide to the Facial Action Coding System. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1978.
32.
GoubertLVervoortTSullivanMJL, et al. Parental emotional responses to their child’s pain: The role of dispositional empathy and catastrophizing about their child’s pain. J Pain2008, 9(3), 272–279.
33.
GoubertLEcclestonCVervoortT, et al. Parental catastrophizing about their child’s pain. The parent version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-P): a preliminary validation. Pain2006, 123(3), 254–263.
34.
CaesLVervoortTTrostZ, et al. Impact of parental catastrophizing and contextual threat on parents’ emotional and behavioral responses to their child’s pain. Pain2012, 153(3), 687–695.
35.
YangZJacksonTGaoX, et al. (2012). Identifying selective visual attention biases related to fear of pain by tracking eye movements within a dot-probe paradigm. Pain2012, 153, 1742–1748.
36.
SalvucciDDGoldbergJH. (2000). Identifying fixations and saccades in eyetracking protocols. In Proceedings of the 2000 symposium on eye tracking research & applications, p 71–78, ACM, NY, USA.
37.
LakensD. Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science: A practical primer for t-tests and ANOVAs. Front Psychol2013, 4, 863.
38.
BarclayLJSkarlickiDPPughSD. Exploring the Role of Emotions in Injustice Perceptions and Retaliation. J Appl Psychol2005, 90(4), 629–643.
39.
OrthUMontadaLMaerckerA. Feelings of revenge, retaliation motive and post-traumatic stress reactions in crime victims. J Interpers Violence2006, 21, 229–243.
40.
VervoortTTrostZ. (2017). Examining affective-motivational dynamics and behavioral implications within the interpersonal context of pain. J Pain2017, 18(10), 1174–1183.
41.
RobinsonMD. Running from William James’ Bear: A review of preattentive mechanisms and their contributions to emotional experience. Cogn Emot1998, 12, 667–696.
42.
Van DoornJZeelenbergMBreugelmansSM. Emotional experience and prosocial behavior in observers of unjust situations. Appl Psychol Crim Justice2019, 15(1), 41–59.
43.
Van DammeSCrombezGEcclestonC. Retarded disengagement from pain cues: the effects of pain catastrophizing and pain expectancy. Pain2002, 100(1–2), 111–118.
44.
CislerJMKosterEHW. Mechanisms of attentional biases toward threat in anxiety disorders: An integrative review. Clin Psychol Rev2010, 30, 203–216.
45.
VervoortTTrostZPrkachinKM, et al. Attentional processing of other’s facial display of pain: an eye tracking study. Pain2013, 154(6), 836–844.
46.
RyanJLMullinsLLRamseyRR, et al. Caregiver demand and parent distress in juvenile rheumatic disease: the mediating effect of parent attitude toward illness. J Clin Psychol Med Settings2013, 20(3), 351–360.
47.
MullinsLLCushingCCSuorsaKI, et al. Parent illness appraisals, parent adjustment and parent-reported child quality of life in pediatric cancer. Ped Hematol Oncol2016, 33(5), 314–326.
48.
DowneyGPurdieVSchaffer-NeitzR. Anger transmission from mother to child: A comparison of mothers in chronic pain and well mothers. J Marriage Fam1999, 61(1), 62–73.
49.
DowneyGCoyneJC. Children of depressed parents: An integrativeReview. Psychol Bull1990, 108, 50–76.
50.
DixT. The affective organization of parenting: Adaptive and maladaptive processes. Psychol Bull1991, 110, 3–25.
51.
LovejoyMCGraczykPAO’HareE, et al. Maternal depression and parenting behavior: A meta-analytic review. Clin Psychol Rev2000, 20, 561–592.
52.
FieldA. (2013). Discovering Statistics with IBM SPSS Statistics. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
53.
FernandezETurkDC. The scope and significance of anger in the experience of chronic pain. Pain1995, 61, 165–175.
54.
FernandezEWasanA. The anger of pain sufferers: Attributions to agents and appraisals of wrongdoings. In PotegalM.StemmlerG.SpielbergerC. (Eds.), International handbook of anger: Constituent and concomitant biological, psychological, and social processes2009; 449–464. Springer Science + Business Media.
55.
YangZJacksonTGaoX, et al. Identifying selective visual attention biases related to fear of pain by tracking eye movements within a dot-probe paradigm. Pain2012, 153, 1742–1748.
56.
ZemanJGarberJ. Display rules for anger, sadness and pain: It depends on who is watching. Child Dev1996, 67(3), 957–973.
57.
HechlerTVervoortTHamannM, et al. Parental catastrophizing about their child’s chronic pain: Are mothers and fathers different?Eur J Pain2011, 15(5), 515e1––515e9.
