DEVELOPMENT OF THE WALDRON VARNI PEDIATRIC PAIN COPING INVENTORY/

The standardized assessment of pediatric pain coping strategies may su bstantively contribute to the conceptual understanding of individual d ifferences in pediatric pain perception and report. The Waldron/Varni Pediatric Pain Coping Inventory (PPCI) was developed to be a standardi zed questionnaire to assess systematically children's pain coping stra tegies. The PPCI was administered to 187 children and adolescents expe riencing musculoskeletal pain associated with rheumatologic diseases, A principal components analysis revealed a five-factor solution for th e PPCI: (1) cognitive self-instruction, (2) seek social support, (3) s trive to rest and be alone, (4) cognitive refocusing, and (5) problem- solving self-efficacy, The results of this research provide initial ev idence that the PPCI is a conceptually valid and internally reliable m easure for assessing pediatric pain coping strategies.