“Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain
Background: Twelve percent of emerging adults (EAs) experience chronic pain which is associated with psychological distress and isolation. At least 40 % of EAs with chronic pain experience pain dismissal which poses a significant barrier to care and treatment. The goals of this paper were to expand...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Health Care Transitions |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923225000224 |
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| author | Elizabeth Fenelon Kayla McCracken Keely Bieniak-Fortier Chloe Crosby Paulina Paredes Cienega Susan T. Tran |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Fenelon Kayla McCracken Keely Bieniak-Fortier Chloe Crosby Paulina Paredes Cienega Susan T. Tran |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Fenelon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Twelve percent of emerging adults (EAs) experience chronic pain which is associated with psychological distress and isolation. At least 40 % of EAs with chronic pain experience pain dismissal which poses a significant barrier to care and treatment. The goals of this paper were to expand our understanding of pain dismissal experiences among EAs and to extend research to the emotional and psychological impact of pain dismissal on EAs. Method: EAs with chronic pain (N = 227) between the ages of 18–25 (Mage = 19.58) completed online surveys of pain experiences, anxiety, and depression. Thematic analysis was conducted for three open-ended responses. Results: Over 40 % of EAs with chronic pain experienced pain dismissal (43 %), with female and EAs identifying as other gender identity experiencing greater dismissal than male EAs. There were no differences across racial/ethnic identities. Medical professionals (46 %) and caregivers/parents (38 %) were most frequently reported people to have dismissed participant pain. Minimizing/invalidating (27 %) and normalizing (26 %) were the most frequent themes of what was said to dismiss one’s pain. In response to pain dismissal, EAs described feeling generic negative feelings (25 %) and anger/annoyance (21 %). Discussion: Survey responses suggest that pain dismissal bothered EAs, and those who experienced pain dismissal had higher anxiety and depression, indicating a need for family/provider education on pain in EAs and validation of pain experiences in EAs. New themes around what constituted pain dismissal included negative self-view and invalidated/gaslit. Future research should explore the long-term effects pain dismissal has on chronic pain outcomes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b6358a7c2ea34eb28457e09aa764559e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2949-9232 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Care Transitions |
| spelling | doaj-art-b6358a7c2ea34eb28457e09aa764559e2025-08-20T04:02:13ZengElsevierHealth Care Transitions2949-92322025-01-01310011610.1016/j.hctj.2025.100116“Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic painElizabeth Fenelon0Kayla McCracken1Keely Bieniak-Fortier2Chloe Crosby3Paulina Paredes Cienega4Susan T. Tran5Corresponding author.; DePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, United StatesDePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, United StatesDePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, United StatesDePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, United StatesDePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, United StatesDePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, United StatesBackground: Twelve percent of emerging adults (EAs) experience chronic pain which is associated with psychological distress and isolation. At least 40 % of EAs with chronic pain experience pain dismissal which poses a significant barrier to care and treatment. The goals of this paper were to expand our understanding of pain dismissal experiences among EAs and to extend research to the emotional and psychological impact of pain dismissal on EAs. Method: EAs with chronic pain (N = 227) between the ages of 18–25 (Mage = 19.58) completed online surveys of pain experiences, anxiety, and depression. Thematic analysis was conducted for three open-ended responses. Results: Over 40 % of EAs with chronic pain experienced pain dismissal (43 %), with female and EAs identifying as other gender identity experiencing greater dismissal than male EAs. There were no differences across racial/ethnic identities. Medical professionals (46 %) and caregivers/parents (38 %) were most frequently reported people to have dismissed participant pain. Minimizing/invalidating (27 %) and normalizing (26 %) were the most frequent themes of what was said to dismiss one’s pain. In response to pain dismissal, EAs described feeling generic negative feelings (25 %) and anger/annoyance (21 %). Discussion: Survey responses suggest that pain dismissal bothered EAs, and those who experienced pain dismissal had higher anxiety and depression, indicating a need for family/provider education on pain in EAs and validation of pain experiences in EAs. New themes around what constituted pain dismissal included negative self-view and invalidated/gaslit. Future research should explore the long-term effects pain dismissal has on chronic pain outcomes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923225000224Pain dismissalEmerging adultsChronic painGenderEthnicity |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Fenelon Kayla McCracken Keely Bieniak-Fortier Chloe Crosby Paulina Paredes Cienega Susan T. Tran “Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain Health Care Transitions Pain dismissal Emerging adults Chronic pain Gender Ethnicity |
| title | “Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain |
| title_full | “Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain |
| title_fullStr | “Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain |
| title_short | “Hurt and Misunderstood”: Emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain |
| title_sort | hurt and misunderstood emotional reactions to pain dismissal in emerging adults with chronic pain |
| topic | Pain dismissal Emerging adults Chronic pain Gender Ethnicity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923225000224 |
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