Gerstenfeld, LouisCorey, Jenelle Renee2018-08-132018https://hdl.handle.net/2144/30763Chronic pain affects a significant number of youth, impacting the lives of those young people, as well as the parents and individuals who care for them. Graded exposure treatment, often involving parents as well as the child, is emerging as a promising new intervention for youth with chronic pain. Yet, little is currently known about how parents perceive this treatment and its effectiveness on improving their child’s condition. This study aimed to qualitatively characterize caregivers’ experiences during their child’s graded exposure treatment for chronic pain. In order to evaluate these mindsets, parent narratives from 15 pediatric patients undergoing a graded exposure treatment were coded and assessed from repeated sessions between the parent and treating psychologist. Narratives were coded for affect and content related to attitude (e.g. optimism/ pessimism), perceptions of growth (e.g. benefit-finding/ post-traumatic growth), and perceived treatment benefit (e.g. treatment outlook) using an established coding scheme adapted from a previous publication. When compared across treatment time points, multiple trends were found amongst the coded topics, such as an increase in frequency of positive affect and an increase in parents’ perceived treatment benefit (e.g. “She is definitely more active, she’s definitely more open”). Using a grounded theory approach, five common themes emerged from the coded data, which could be used to provide valuable insight into the impact that pediatric chronic pain has on parent experiences. When examined over the course of their child’s treatment, changes in attitudes and perceptions can be identified and utilized to inform potential progress in treatment, as well as, future treatment targets.en-USPsychologyThesis/Dissertation2018-07-03