Pain
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Comparative Study
Readiness to change in pediatric chronic pain: initial validation of adolescent and parent versions of the Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire.
Despite the clinical importance of readiness to change in predicting treatment outcomes among adults, no studies have examined this construct among pediatric pain patients. Because parents play a key role in adolescent pain management, both adolescent and parent readiness to adopt a self-management approach to pain merit further study. The primary goal of the current study was to validate adolescent and parent-report adaptations of the adult Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire (PSOCQ). ⋯ Stability findings at 4 and 8 weeks after a multidisciplinary pain clinic evaluation are reported. Associations between pediatric PSOCQ scores and demographic, pain, and functional domains were explored to inform future research. Further validation of the PSOCQ-A and PSOCQ-P measures with new, separate samples of pediatric pain patients and parents are needed before use in clinical contexts.