Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- Creators: Davis, Mary C
Description
Chronic pain is common during childhood and has negative immediate and long-term implications for physical and mental health. Prior research points to physical activity and sleep as protective health-promoting behaviors predicting lower chronic pain intensity and disability during adulthood. No study has yet examined the interaction of physical activity and sleep parameters in prediction of chronic pain in a community sample of children. Guided by the biopsychosocial model of pediatric chronic pain, this study explored objectively assessed physical activity and sleep patterns at age 8 as predictors of childhood chronic pain at age 9 in a racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of 896 twins participating in the longitudinal Arizona Twin Project. It was hypothesized that parameters of physical activity levels and sleep health would independently predict chronic pain one year later, and that sleep parameters would moderate the association between physical activity and chronic pain. Monthly chronic pain was common, with 57.1% of participants reporting at least one pain location. Headaches, stomachaches, and backaches were the most frequent chronic pain presentations. Participants exceeded physical activity guidelines but did not meet sleep recommendations for their age group. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that physical activity and sleep parameters at age 8 did not predict chronic pain one year later, and that sleep parameters did not moderate the associations between physical activity and chronic pain. The present study provides evidence that the associations between objectively assessed physical activity and sleep and chronic pain are not yet evident during middle childhood in this community sample compared to patient samples who have existing pain, suggesting that these health behaviors may play distinct roles in pain development versus pain management. They also point to the need to pinpoint the time frame during which these health behaviors become relevant and potentially interact to predict chronic pain development and maintenance. Longitudinal research tracking these health behaviors and pain using both subjective and objective methods as children transition into and through adolescence can help to identify optimal developmental stages at which to target prevention and intervention efforts to promote long term health.
ContributorsBartsch, Eva Marie (Author) / Davis, Mary C (Thesis advisor) / Doane, Leah D (Committee member) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Chronic pain is among the most prevalent health issues experienced by older adults and negatively impacts daily functioning and psychosocial well-being through mechanisms that include energy depletion, pain interference, and pain-related changes in negative affect. The capacities to be aware of and regulate negative emotions play a critical role in the successful management of chronic pain. One dimension of negative emotion awareness, termed negative emotion differentiation (NED), is the ability to discriminate between negative affective experiences and recognize them as discrete categories. The ability to identify and distinguish between the various emotions that accompany pain flares and other stressors may enhance the precision of the individual’s regulatory efforts. In doing so, NED may be one possible resilience resource that can facilitate adaptive functioning in the context of chronic pain by buffering the effects of chronic pain flares on daily interpersonal stress. However, this has not yet been investigated. The current study aimed to examine the moderating effect of trait NED on the relationship between daily pain and same-day stress in 259 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) or fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Individuals completed daily diaries each evening for 30 days reporting on average daily pain, negative emotions, interpersonal stress, and depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that higher levels of NED would buffer the effects of daily pain on same-day stress. In exploratory analyses, it was evaluated whether the buffering effects were larger for individuals with FMS versus OA. Results of multilevel models revealed that, as expected, higher levels of trait NED predicted lower levels of same-day negative interpersonal events and perceived interpersonal stress. Trait NED also moderated the relationship between pain-related increases in same-day perceived interpersonal stress. Additionally, findings indicated that NED was similarly important for those with FMS and OA. Taken together, the current findings suggest that NED is an important resilience trait that can attenuate chronic pain-related increases in daily experiences of interpersonal stress.
ContributorsOlah, Meryl (Author) / Davis, Mary C (Thesis advisor) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022