Examining the Role of Pain in the Link Between Early Childhood Adversity and Psychopathology

NCT06445712 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: 202312107UL1TR002345
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 39
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to investigate the role of physical pain in the link between childhood adversity and later psychopathology. Children who are participating in a larger longitudinal study will be asked to submerge their hand in cold water and hold it in the cold water as long as possible. Participants will do this twice, once alone and once holding the hand of their parent, to examine the role of parental support in pain development. The study will examine self-report of pain and salivary cortisol response to pain. It is hypothesized that children who have been exposed to more adversity will experience increased pain response and increased psychopathology symptoms. It is expected that higher social support in the family will decrease this relationship.

Conditions

Child Development

Keywords

Pain; Early Life Adversity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Pain Tolerance

  Time hand is held in cold water

  0-120 seconds

• Pain Sensitivity

  Self-reported score on the Visual Analogue Scale for Pain. Participants use a physical sliding scale to indicate how much pain they experienced \[ higher numbers are equal to more pain; (no pain (0-4 mm), mild pain(5-44 mm), moderate pain (45-74 mm), and severe pain (75-100 mm)\]

  0-60 seconds after experiencing stimulus

Study Arms (1)

Pain Assessment

EXPERIMENTAL

Children will submerge their hand in cold water and be asked to hold it in as long as possible. They will do this both alone and holding the hand of a parent (counterbalanced).

Behavioral: Parental Support Cold Pressor Task

Interventions

Parental Support Cold Pressor Task BEHAVIORAL

Child will submerge their hand in cold water alone and holding the hand of a parent.

Pain Assessment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 9 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Subjects who have been enrolled in our ongoing CARE study

You may not qualify if:

• Subjects who have not participated in the CARE study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Washington University School of Medicine: lead
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Laboratory for Child Brain Development

St Louis, Missouri, 63108, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Susan Perlman
• Organization: Washington University in St. Louis

PERLMANSUSAN@wustl.edu

3142861700

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 22, 2024
• First Posted: June 6, 2024
• Study Start: May 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: March 23, 2025
• Study Completion: March 23, 2025
• Last Updated: January 27, 2026
• Results First Posted: January 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)