Abstract
Adolescent chronic pain exists within a social context, affecting the lives of adolescents, parents, peers, and wider family members. Typically, parental research has focussed on the negative impact on parents associated with parenting an adolescent with chronic pain. However, a small number of studies have identified positive parental outcomes and functioning, with a focus on parental resilience. This study sought to extend existing knowledge by providing a detailed and contextualized understanding of how parental dyads experience and demonstrate resilience in response to parenting an adolescent with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and the meaning that parents ascribe to these shared experiences. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to conduct an in-depth qualitative interview study of parents of an adolescent with CRPS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Skype with eight mother-father parental dyads of an adolescent aged 11-25 years with CRPS. A single prominent theme 'masking reality in the face of pain' dominated the parental discourse and experience of resilience. Resilience was experienced as an incongruence between private distress and the perceived obligation to display socially desirable resilience behaviours to protect their child from their own distress. Study findings highlight the benefits of strength-based interventions to enhance parental resilience. This is particularly important since parental behaviours have been shown to influence child pain outcomes. Future research should seek to explore resilience in different populations such as lone parents, siblings, and those parenting an adolescent with pain conditions other than CRPS.
Highlights
Pain is a common and often unremarkable experience in childhood and adolescence for many, with a small yet sizable number of young people going on to develop chronic pain and associated disability (Forgeron & Stinson, 2014; Huguet & Miro, 2008)
Chronic pain is commonly defined as pain that persists beyond the typical course of an acute disease or reasonable time for an injury to heal, which is typically more than 3 months (Nicholas et al, 2019)
A systematic review of community-based epidemiological studies identified that 11–38% of children and adolescents experience chronic pain, with 5% of these reporting significant pain-related dysfunction (King et al, 2011)
Summary
Pain is a common and often unremarkable experience in childhood and adolescence for many, with a small yet sizable number of young people going on to develop chronic pain and associated disability (Forgeron & Stinson, 2014; Huguet & Miro, 2008). A systematic review of community-based epidemiological studies identified that 11–38% of children and adolescents experience chronic pain, with 5% of these reporting significant pain-related dysfunction (King et al, 2011). Chronic pain may be related to a disease or injury or can be idiopathic in aetiology (Jordan & Caes, 2020). Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic condition characterized by intense localized pain which affects children, adolescents and adults (Goh, Chidambaram, & Ma, 2017; Weissmann & Uziel, 2016). Paediatric CRPS is more prevalent in adolescent girls (de Mos et al, 2007; Low, Ward, & Wines, 2007) and young people with CRPS report greater pain intensity and functional disability in comparison to young people with other chronic pain conditions (Logan et al, 2013). The impact of living with chronic pain in adolescence can be substantial, negatively impacting on physical and emotional functioning, peer relationships, school engagement, and attainment (Haraldstad, Sørum, Eide, Karin, & Helseth, 2011; Simons, Sieberg, & Clarr, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
