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Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
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Exploring the relationship between pain and self-harm thoughts and behaviours in young people using network analysis
Verena Hinze1, Tamsin Ford2, Robin Evans3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Psychological Medicine
|March 15, 2021
Summary
Pain is independently linked to self-harm thoughts and behaviours (SHTBs) in young people. This study reveals pain is a significant correlate of SHTBs, even when considering other risk factors.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Psychiatry
- Public Health
Background:
- Self-harm thoughts and behaviours (SHTBs) represent a significant public health issue among youth.
- Emerging evidence suggests a connection between pain and SHTBs in young individuals.
- The precise nature of this association, particularly in relation to other SHTB correlates, requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between SHTBs, pain, and other known correlates in a population-based sample of young people.
- To utilize network analysis to understand the complex interplay of these factors.
- To determine if pain is an independent correlate of SHTBs in youth.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of data from 7977 young people (aged 5-16) from the 2004 British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey.
- Application of chi-squared tests and network analysis to examine associations.
- Inclusion of correlates such as psychiatric disorders, trauma, life events, parental distress, family dysfunction, peer issues, and inhibitory control deficits.
Main Results:
- Pain was associated with a twofold increased risk of SHTBs, and vice versa.
- Network analysis indicated that pain was significantly associated with most SHTB correlates, excluding family dysfunction.
- Pain demonstrated the strongest association with SHTBs after controlling for other measured correlates.
Conclusions:
- This study is the first to employ network analysis to explore the intricate relationship between SHTBs, pain, and their correlates in young people.
- Findings suggest that pain is an independent correlate of SHTBs in this population.
- Further research is recommended to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving this association.
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