Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association
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Although children's pain memories have been shown to be a powerful predictor of subsequent pain experiences in acute procedural and experimental pain settings, little is known about the influence of children's and parents' pain memories on children's future pain experiences in other painful contexts. This study used a dyadic approach to examine the roles of children's and parents' memories of pain on their subsequent reporting of postsurgical pain several months after the child underwent a major surgical procedure. ⋯ Findings suggest that children's pain memories influence their continued recovery from postsurgical pain and may contribute to pain persistence. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record