Pain and Distress in Inpatient Children According to Child and Mother Perceptions

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the associations between pain experiences in children with respect to self-perceptions and mother perceptions and stress indicators. The study sample included 30 hospitalized children of 6-12 years of age and the children’s mothers. The Faces Scale-Revised, Child Stress Scale, and Inventory of Stress Symptoms for Adults instruments were used. A data analysis is performed via descriptive statistics and correlation analyses. The results showed that higher pain intensities in children was associated with higher stress, psychological and psychophysiological reactions in children. Higher pain intensities in children also increase mothers’ perceptions of pain in children. Seventy percent of the mothers studied in the sample presented clinical indicators of stress. Psychological support during child hospitalization should address the management of pain and stress in children and stress in mothers.