• Nicole M Racine, Rebecca R Pillai Riddell, David Flora, Hartley Garfield, and Saul Greenberg.
• Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M3J 1P3. rpr@yorku.ca
• J Pediatr Psychol. 2012 Sep 1;37(8):935-44.

ObjectiveThis study investigated the associations between caregiver verbal reassurance and infant pain-related distress during immunization over the first year of life. The relationships between verbal reassurance and caregiver emotional availability (EA) were also examined. Finally, EA was investigated as a moderator of the relationship between verbal reassurance and infant pain.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis was conducted with 606 infants (and their parents) at 4 different ages (n = 376 at 2 months, n = 455 at 4 months, n = 484 at 6 months, and n = 407 at 12 months).ResultsVerbal reassurance was positively associated with infant distress across all four ages. EA was only negatively related to verbal reassurance at 12 months of age. EA was not a significant moderator at any age.ConclusionFindings demonstrate consistent but small relationships between verbal reassurance and infant pain over the first year of life.

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