Felt Stigma in Youth With Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction: Implications for Abdominal Pain, Sleep, and Mood

Children with painful disorders of gut-brain interactions (DGBIs) endorse pain-related stigmatization. However, little is known about how stigma may be associated with pain intensity. Consequently, we conducted a cross-sectional study to identify a potential pathway between felt stigma and abdominal pain in youth with DGBIs. 120 youth completed measures of health-related stigma, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, and pain severity. As expected, greater felt stigma was significantly correlated with greater depressive symptoms, sleep-related impairments, and abdominal pain. Furthermore, a sequential mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of stigma on abdominal pain via higher depressive symptoms and greater sleep-related impairments. Results suggest potential considerations for modifying current treatments for DGBIs targeting abdominal pain. More specifically, providers should incorporate screening for and addressing felt stigma, sleep-related impairment, and depressive symptoms into their treatment planning. Involving pediatric behavioral health providers may help facilitate this aspect of DGBI intervention.