Project

Examining the phenomenology, impact and underlying mechanisms of child appraisals of injustice in the context of pain

Code
3G002718
Duration
01 January 2018 → 31 December 2021
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
No data available
Keywords
phenomenology
 
Project description

Pain is a common experience in children and adolescents that is usually temporarily disabling. However, a significant proportion of children/adolescents continue to experience substantial pain and disability. Emerging evidence among adults suggests that appraisals of injustice, conceptualized as cognitions comprising attributions of blame and irreparability of loss due to pain contribute to adverse pain-related outcomes. Preliminary results among children/adolescents are quite congruent with those of the adult literature, indicating that child/adolescent appraisals of injustice contribute to deleterious pain outcomes. However, research on the role of pain-related injustice appraisals in children is in its infancy. Specifically, existing research relies almost exclusively on the Injustice Experience Questionnaire (IEQ). While validated among adult populations, it is premature to extend understanding and assessment of adult appraisals of pain to child appraisals of pain. Furthermore, little is known about mechanisms of action through which perceived injustice exerts its impact. The objectives of this research are to examine (1) the phenomenology of child/adolescent injustice appraisals in response to pain (including conditions under which such appraisals arise), (2) their impact upon child pain outcomes and parental responses to child pain, and (3) the explanatory role of anger indexed by attentional processing and expressive behaviour, in addition to traditional selfreport.