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Dyadic analysis of siblings' relationship quality, behavioural responses, and pain experiences during experimental
Meghan G Schinkel1,2, Christine T Chambers1,2,3, Penny Corkum1,4
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Insights
Sibling relationship quality influences how children behave during pain. Positive sibling relationships encourage distraction, while observing siblings
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Pain Research
- Family Dynamics
Background:
- Paediatric pain research has overlooked sibling influence, focusing mainly on parental roles.
- Understanding family dynamics is crucial for managing children's pain experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between sibling relationship quality and children's pain-related behaviors.
- To determine if an observing sibling's behavior impacts a child's pain outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Ninety-two sibling dyads (ages 8-12) completed relationship quality measures.
- Children underwent a cold-pressor task (CPT) with their sibling observing.
- Sibling behaviors (attending, nonattending, coping/encouragement) and pain outcomes (intensity, fear, tolerance) were coded and analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Main Results:
- Warmer sibling relationships correlated with more nonattending and less attending behaviors during the CPT.
- Observing siblings' attending behaviors were linked to lower pain tolerance in the participant.
- Observing siblings' coping/encouragement behaviors were associated with higher reported pain intensity and fear.
Conclusions:
- Children in positive sibling relationships tend to use distraction when experiencing pain with a sibling present.
- Observing siblings' pain-focused behaviors can exacerbate a child's pain intensity and fear during experimental pain.
Abstract:
Research on family factors in paediatric pain has primarily focused on parents; the role of siblings has been largely ignored. This study examined whether sibling relationship quality was related to siblings' behaviours during experimental pain, and whether the behaviours of an observing sibling were related to children's pain outcomes. Ninety-two sibling dyads between 8 and 12 years old completed both observational and questionnaire measures of sibling relationship quality. Children took turns completing the cold-pressor task (CPT) in a counterbalanced order with their sibling present. Pain outcomes (intensity, fear, and tolerance) were recorded for each sibling, and the behaviour of the observing and participating siblings during the CPT were coded as attending, nonattending, and coping/encouragement. Structural equation modelling, using the actor-partner interdependence model, was conducted to analyse the dyadic data. While participating in the CPT with their sibling present, greater levels of warmth and positivity in the sibling relationship were related to children engaging in more nonattending behaviours and less attending behaviours. Greater levels of attending behaviours by the observing child was related to the sibling having a lower pain tolerance, and greater levels of coping/encouragement behaviours by the observing child was related to the sibling reporting greater pain intensity and fear during the CPT. Children with warmer/positive sibling relationships were more likely to respond to acute pain by shifting the focus away from their pain experience (eg, through distraction) when a sibling was present. Pain-focused behaviours by an observing sibling are related to greater child pain and fear during experimental pain.