• Aimee K Hildenbrand, Meghan L Marsac, Brian P Daly, Douglas Chute, and Nancy Kassam-Adams.
• Department of Psychology, Drexel University, The Center for Injury Research and Prevention, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, hildenbranda@email.chop.edu.
• J Pediatr Psychol. 2016 Jan 1; 41 (1): 98-107.

ObjectiveUsing a prospective, longitudinal design, we examined the relationship between acute pain and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in youth following injury.MethodsChildren aged 8-17 years who sustained an injury (N = 243) and their parents participated in baseline interviews to assess children's worst pain since injury. 6 months later, participants completed follow-up interviews to assess child PTSS.ResultsPain as assessed by the Color Analogue Pain Scale (CAS) predicted PTSS 6 months after injury, even when controlling for demographic and empirically based risk factors. On the other hand, pain as assessed by the Faces Pain Rating Scale was not a significant independent predictor of PTSS.ConclusionsThe CAS may be a useful addition to existing screening tools for PTSS among children. Additional research is warranted to understand underlying mechanisms linking acute pain and PTSS to improve assessment, prevention, and treatment approaches and promote optimal recovery after pediatric injury.© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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