Research Article: Flourishing among Children and Adolescents with Chronic Pain and Emotional, Developmental, or Behavioral Comorbidities
Abstract:
Pediatric chronic pain is an important public health issue given its notable impact on numerous domains of living. Pediatric chronic pain is also often comorbid with emotional, developmental, or behavioral conditions, which can lead to more severe negative outcomes and an even greater reduction in positive outcomes compared to those without comorbidities. Flourishing is a positive outcome that chronic pain status has been shown to impact. Flourishing in children aged 6–17 years living with chronic pain, as well as those with chronic pain and comorbidities, was explored using data from the 2018/2019 National Survey of Child Health. Chronic pain occurred in 4.0% of our sample, and the prevalence of chronic pain plus comorbidities was 3.9%. There were significant associations between the chronic pain condition status and all demographic variables (sex, age, race/ethnicity, poverty level, parental education, and health insurance status). The results of the hierarchical logistic regression found that the chronic pain condition status significantly predicted flourishing. Children with chronic pain were 2.33 times less likely to flourish, and children with chronic pain plus an emotional, developmental, or behavioral comorbidity were 13 times less likely to flourish than their typical peers. Given their significantly lower likelihood of flourishing, there is an urgent need for interventions targeted at children experiencing chronic pain and mental health comorbidities.
Introduction:
In their 2020 Guidelines on the Management of Chronic Pain in Children, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified chronic pain—pain that persists or recurs for more than three months—as the leading cause of morbidity in children [1]. The impact on a child living with chronic pain can be severe, deleterious, and far-reaching, with the literature finding school functioning, peer and social interactions, sleep, and family relationships being among the compromised factors [2,3,4]. One study estimated that almost…
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