An examination of child temperament as a predictor of parental post-operative analgesic administration
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Updated: Apr 26, 2026
An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain PPOP
Published on: January 27, 2010
Sheeva Zolghadr1, Michelle A Fortier2, Britanny Winckler1
1Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care, University of California, Irvine.
Insights
Children's temperament, particularly emotionality, influences how parents administer pain medication after surgery. Understanding these traits can improve post-operative pain management at home.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Pain Management
- Child Development
Background:
- Parental administration of analgesics post-surgery is common.
- Factors influencing parental medication decisions require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if children's temperament predicts post-operative analgesic use by parents.
- To control for pain severity, surgery type, and parental beliefs about pain medication.
Main Methods:
- 286 parents of children (ages 1-18) undergoing outpatient surgery participated.
- Parents completed baseline temperament and medication attitude questionnaires.
- Post-operative pain and analgesic doses were recorded for 7 days.
Main Results:
- Child emotionality was linked to acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and hydrocodone use.
- Shyness correlated with acetaminophen and hydrocodone administration.
- Emotionality independently predicted the administration of all three analgesic types.
Conclusions:
- Children's temperament dimensions, especially emotionality, are significant predictors of parental analgesic administration.
- Interventions for home-based pediatric pain management should consider child temperament alongside pain severity.
- Both proximal and distal factors are crucial for effective post-operative pain management strategies.
Background/Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to examine children's temperament as a predictor of post-operative analgesics administered by parents after controlling for post-operative pain severity, surgery severity, and parental misconceptions regarding pain medication for children.
Methods:
Participants included 286 Spanish- and English-speaking parents of children ages 1-18 (IQR: 3-8) undergoing outpatient elective surgery. Parents completed measures of baseline temperament, parental medication attitudes, and demographics preceding their child's surgery and recorded pain intensity and doses of analgesics administered (nonopioid and opioid) on postoperative days 1, 3, and 7.
Results:
Pearson product-moment correlations revealed that emotionality was significantly associated with acetaminophen, ibuprofen and hydrocodone and shyness was significantly associated with acetaminophen and hydrocodone. Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed emotionality as a significant independent predictor of acetaminophen, ibuprofen and hydrocodone administered (F(4, 72)=2.82, F(4, 73)=1.53, F(4, 58)=8.75, respectively).
Conclusion:
Dimensions of children's temperament, specifically emotionality, predict analgesic administration by parents following surgery even after controlling for confounding variables. These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions targeting management of children's pain in the home setting and suggest that both proximal (e.g., pain severity) and distal (e.g., child temperament) factors may be necessary intervention components.
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