Parenting style during childhood is associated with the development of chronic pain and a patient's need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood: A case-control study

The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between parenting style and chronic pain and the patients’ need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood. We compared 4 combinations of 2 parenting style subscales, high and low care and overprotection, among the following 4 age- and sex-matched groups: community-dwelling subjects without chronic pain (n = 100), community-dwelling subjects with chronic pain (n = 100), outpatients with chronic pain (n = 50), and inpatients with chronic pain (n = 50). Parenting style was assessed for both the mother and father by use of the Parental Bonding Instrument questionnaire. The parenting style associated with the worst outcome was defined as both low care and high overprotection, as reported in previous studies. The frequency of reported adverse parenting style was significantly higher among chronic pain patients than community-dwelling subjects without chronic pain (all P < .05). The odds ratios for an adverse parenting style significantly increased through the categories after adjusting for demographic factors and the pain visual analog scale (P for trend <.01). These findings suggest that parental low care and high overprotection during childhood contribute to the future risk of chronic pain and the patients’ need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood.