# Dyadic parent-child influences on pain expression and proxy ratings in children with IDD

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $409,337

## Abstract

Because children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are frequently unable to report their pain
verbally, parents often serve as proxy reporters in interpreting and describing their child's pain. Although there
is substantial evidence that interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors at the level of both
the child and the parent influence children's behavioral pain expression and parents' interpretation of pain
behavior in the general population, there has been almost no work investigating the influence of dyadic
parent-child relationships on pain assessment among children with IDD. The long-term goal of this project is to
improve the understanding of dynamic and reciprocal processes influencing how parents rate and respond to
pain in children who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally due to IDD and who may exhibit
idiosyncratic pain signs. To achieve this end, the short-term goal of this project is to identify the specific parent
and child factors associated with pain expression among children with IDD and differences in parental pain
intensity ratings. The project will achieve this objective by recruiting a large sample of parent-child dyads in
which the children are between the ages of 1.5 and 5 years and have been diagnosed with global
developmental delay (GDD). Dyads will be video recorded during a clinically-indicated blood draw to evaluate
pain expression, parents' pain intensity ratings, and parental behaviors during the pain event. Information on
parents' overall judgments of their children's pain sensitivity will also be collected. We will collect information on
the children's adaptive behavior, communication abilities, and gross motor function, as well as several
standardized rating scales to categorize parents' general negative affect and pain-related beliefs and
cognitions. Completion of the proposed project will lead to improved understanding of how parent-child factors
interact to influence parents' judgments of pain among children who cannot self-report.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10929554
- **Project number:** 5R01HD110981-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Breanne J Byiers
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $409,337
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-15 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10929554

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10929554, Dyadic parent-child influences on pain expression and proxy ratings in children with IDD (5R01HD110981-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10929554. Licensed CC0.

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