Basic research with children and adolescents

The central constructs, such as interoception, lay theories and stress of children and adolescents, which can contribute to the development and maintenance of mental disorders, are addressed in the following projects.

Interoception in children and adolescents with mental disorders and chronic (primary) pain (INTERO)

The aim of the project is to record the defensive reaction multimodally (e.g. by recording the startle reflex) in children and adolescents with chronic pain and healthy people after provocation and imagination of the body's own sensations at the main site of pain. It is expected that children with chronic pain will show stronger defensive reactions (stronger startle potentiation) than healthy individuals, especially when sensations proximal to the main site of pain are provoked or imagined (DFG project: HE 5942/4-1; SCHN 415/5-1).

Publications

Flack, F., Pané-Farré, C. A., Zernikow, B., Schaan, L. & Hechler, T. (2017). Do interoceptive sensations provoke fearful responses in adolescents with chronic headache or chronic abdominal pain? a preliminary experimental study. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 42(6), 667–678. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsw108

Gruszka, P., Schaan, L., Adolph, D., Pané-Farré, C. A., Benke, C., Schneider, S. & Hechler, T. (2018). Defence Response mobilization in response to provocation or imagery of interoceptive sensations in adolescents with chronic pain: a study protocol. Pain reports, 3(7), e680. https://doi.org/10.1097/pr9.0000000000000680

Opdensteinen, K. D., Rach, H., Gruszka, P., Schaan, L., Adolph, D., Pané-Farré, C. A., Benke, C., Dierolf, A. M., Schneider, S. & Hechler, T. (2023). “The mere imagination scares me”—Evidence for fear responses during mental imagery of pain-associated interoceptive sensations in adolescents with chronic pain. Pain. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003041

 

Pain Concepts and Treatment (PAINCONTREAT)

The biopsychosocial model is the basis for understanding and treating chronic (primary) pain. Little research has been done into whether those affected show a biopsychosocial understanding. The aim is therefore to investigate biopsychosocial pain concepts, i.e. a person's understanding of what pain is, what function pain has and which biological, psychological and social processes contribute to its development and maintenance, in children, adolescents and adults. For this purpose, a new assessment tool, the Biopsychosocial Pain Matrix (BiPS Matrix), was developed and evaluated, which makes it possible to investigate biopsychosocial pain concepts in healthy and clinical samples.

Publications

Wickering, L., Lautwein, C., Nitsche, H., Schneider, M. & Hechler, T. (2023). Know pain, no pain? Preliminary testing and application of a new tool to assess biopsychosocial pain concepts in children. Children (Basel), 10(5), 814. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10050814

Wickering, L., Lautwein, C., Fiegler, A., Allerdißen, L., Kloos, T., Schneider, M., & Hechler, T. (2024). Ein Instrument zur Erfassung biopsychosozialer Schmerzkonzepte von Erwachsenen: Entwicklung und Evaluation durch Expert*innen [An instrument to assess biopsychosocial pain concepts in adults: Development and evaluation by experts]. Schmerz. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00482-024-00793-2