Developmental Changes in Children's Cognition to Stressful and Painful Situations

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Abstract
Recent research suggests that some adults spontaneously employ various types of cognitive coping strategies in stressful situations. Subjects who employ cognitive coping strategies typically report less pain and stress than subjects who focus on or exaggerate the negative aspects of the situation (“catastrophizers”). The purpose of the present investigation was to determine what types of cognitions (both coping and catastrophizing) children report in response to two imagined and one recent personal stressor, and how these cognitions relate to age, trait anxiety, and gender. The results indicated that the number of copers increased significantly with age. Positive self-talk was the most frequently reported cognitive coping strategy and its use significantly increased with age. Additionally, the total number of different types of strategies used increased with age. Copers reported significantly less trait anxiety than catastrophizers. There were no sex differences in the prevalence of coping and catastrophizing. Despite the fact that coping increased with age, catastrophizing still occurred at a relatively high rate. Catastrophizing most frequently took the form of focusing on negative affect. Discussion focused on the significance of these findings and implications for future research.