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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access published online on November 4, 2009
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsp096
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Children's Memory for Painful Procedures: The Relationship of Pain Intensity, Anxiety, and Adult Behaviors to Subsequent Recall

Melanie Noel, MSc1, C. Meghan McMurtry, BA1, Christine T. Chambers, PhD1,2,3 and Patrick J. McGrath, PhD1,2,3,4

1Departments of Psychology, 2Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, 3Centre for Pediatric Pain Research, IWK Health Centre and 4Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Melanie Noel, Psychology Department, Dalhousie University, Canada. E-mail: melanie.noel{at}dal.ca


  Abstract

Objective To examine whether children's experience of pain intensity and anxiety, and adult behaviors during venepuncture, were related to children's memories of the procedure. Methods Participants were 48 children (24 males, 24 females) between the ages of 5 and 10 years who underwent venepuncture. The venepunctures were videotaped and adult behaviors were coded. Children self-reported their pain intensity and anxiety immediately and 2 weeks following venepuncture and answered contextual questions at follow-up. Results Children who initially reported higher levels of pain tended to over-estimate their anxiety at follow-up, whereas children who reported lower levels of pain accurately- or under-estimated their anxiety. Staff coping-promoting behaviors predicted the accuracy of children's contextual memories. Staff and parent behaviors did not predict children's recalled pain intensity and anxiety. Conclusions Results indicate that children's direct experience of pain intensity and staff behaviors during venepuncture are related to their memories. These data highlight the importance of effective pain management during medical procedures.

Received May 21, 2009; revision received September 28, 2009; accepted September 29, 2009


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