Pain in Adolescent Psychiatric Patients

Background:  Little is known about the extent of pain among adolescent psychiatric patients, and the relationships with psychosocial factors and psychiatric symptoms.
Method:  A representative sample of 129 adolescent patients were assessed with measures including the Youth Self-Report, the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and instruments assessing self-perceptions, coping styles, stresses, sociodemographic factors, and childhood abuse.
Results:  More than half of the adolescents (54%) reported to be bothered currently by frequent pain. Frequent pain correlated with depression, self-harm, suicide attempt, and with ruminative and emotion oriented coping. Adolescents suffering from frequent pain had more often experienced childhood abuse/neglect. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that depression, alcohol intoxication and childhood neglect were the strongest concurrent predictors of frequent pain.
Conclusions:  Clinicians should ask child and adolescent psychiatric patients about pain, and be aware of possible connections with abuse/neglect, depression and suicidality.