Survey on Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Chronic Pediatric Pain

September 30, 2020 updated by: Helen Koechlin, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Towards a Deeper Understanding of Chronic Pediatric Pain: Exploring the Role of Sensory Processing Sensitivity

Background: Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience and in its chronic form, pain is highly prevalent, up to 25% of children and adolescents are affected by it. The exact etiology of many forms of chronic pain remains unknown. One mechanism that has been proposed to underlie increased pain sensitivity is central sensitization, i.e., increased efficacy of the nervous system in transmitting pain signals, which manifests itself as a lower pain threshold. A lower pain threshold in turn has been recognized as a risk factor for the development of chronic pain. Being more sensitive to pain is one feature commonly shared by those with high sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), who are thought to react more strongly to both positive and negative environmental influences. The relationship between this increased sensitivity and pain tolerance has not been studied to date, but could contribute to our understanding of why some children and adolescents are more vulnerable to developing chronic pain than others.

Objectives and Aims: The aim of this project is to increase scientific understanding of 1) the distribution and correlates of high SPS among children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain, and 2) whether the trait of SPS can help explain increased pain sensitivity and hence vulnerability for chronic pain.

Methods: To determine the distribution (aim 1a) and correlates (aim 1b) of SPS among a population of children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain, an online survey will be conducted. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their SPS as well as pain history and pain characteristics. The distribution of SPS will then be compared to an existing distribution in a sample of healthy children and adolescents.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

150

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Basel, Switzerland, 40555
        • Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

17 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Adolescents suffering from persistent or recurrent pain for 3 or more months, community sample, recruited mainly via pain clinics

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescents aged 17-19 years
  • Persistent or recurrent pain for 3 months or more
  • Fluent in German or English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Younger than 17 or older than 19 years
  • Acute pain

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Highly Sensitive Child Scale
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Sensory Processing Sensitivity
through study completion, an average of 6 months
Functional Disability Inventory for children
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Physical functioning and disability in children with chronic pain
through study completion, an average of 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Helen Koechlin, PhD, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 8, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 15, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 14, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 18, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

November 21, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 1, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 30, 2020

Last Verified

September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Sensory Processing Sensitivity

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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