Empowering adolescents and young adults with somatoform disorders: ... parent-focused mindfulness-based training versus support groups 2025 Lassner+

[Andy]

Full title: Empowering adolescents and young adults with somatoform disorders: A longitudinal pilot randomized controlled trial of a parent-focused mindfulness-based training versus support groups

Highlights​

• Parental support groups enhanced children's pain reduction effects.
• Age was positively associated with baseline child empowerment.
• Treatment benefits sustained at 6-month follow-up.
• Parent integration shows potential; further research is needed.

Abstract​

Background​

In childhood somatoform disorders develop and persist through bio-psycho-social processes including family variables, substantially impacting the development of children, their school attendance, and well-being. Although intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) has demonstrated effectiveness, maintaining long-term outcomes remains challenging, particularly given children's increased risk of developing affective disorders. Since family dynamics influence disorder development and persistence, this study aimed to investigate the potential added value of addressing parents within the therapeutic process.

Method​

This monocentric longitudinal pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) (N = 31) investigated adjunct parent-focused interventions (mindfulness vs. support group) for families of children with somatoform disorders enrolled in IIPT. We assessed children's empowerment, pain related disability, affective pain perception, pain characteristics and parental catastrophizing at admission, discharge, and six-month follow-up. Regression models and repeated-measures ANOVAs evaluated intervention effects.

Results​

Multiple regression analysis identified older age as predictor of empowerment at baseline (β = 0.63, p < .01). IIPT plus parental intervention showed lasting treatment effects. Group allocation had no effect on empowerment, pain disability, affective pain perception, or parental catastrophizing, but allocation to the support group (B = -2.49, p = .009) and male sex (B = -2.29, p = .008) predicted greater reduction in average pain intensity.

Conclusions​

This pilot RCT showed no superiority of the parent-focused mindfulness group over the support group when combined with IIPT. Yet, both interventions may enhance treatment efficacy, with some evidence suggesting additional benefits of the support group intervention in reducing average pain intensity. Further research is needed to examine underlying mechanisms and establish optimal parent intervention approaches in paediatric pain treatment.

Open access

 

[Utsikt]

Breaking news: testing two equally ineffective treatments give approximately the same results.

The conclusion in the abstract is misleading. In the paper they actually take the time to mention that since both arms were active treatments, it’s not possible to determine if the treatments produced the observed changes, or if it’s just bias.

They also spend a lot of time speculating about how these results might fit with theory C or Y, as if those have ever been proven..

 

[Hoopoe]

Would the patients agree they are being empowered? Have they been asked what their needs are? Are they even allowed to speak? Or is this just an empowering of professionals?

 

[rvallee]

This pilot RCT showed no superiority of the parent-focused mindfulness group over the support group when combined with IIPT. Yet, both interventions may enhance treatment efficacy, with some evidence suggesting additional benefits of the support group intervention in reducing average pain intensity.

The essence of "Imagine a world"-based medicine: it didn't work, but you can imagine that it could work, and therefore it worked, we just have to figure out what it means.

Also, literally lmao: what evidence? "Some evidence suggesting". This is what they call evidence-based medicine. Good grief.

The highlights and conclusion are massively misleading to the point of being fraudulent. You can't sell vaporware like this in most contexts because it would run afoul of advertising laws, which are, sadly, significantly more rigorous than medical research.

 

[Arnie Pye]

parent-focused mindfulness-based training versus support groups

Parental support groups enhanced children's pain reduction effects.

I wonder when the parents are going to be trained in these pain reduction efforts, who is going to do the training, and who is going to pay for the training.

In my childhood my parents wouldn't have used pain reduction if they thought I deserved it, they would be the ones creating the pain in the first place if my problem wasn't visible.