9th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) are a set of common childhood disorders of brain-gut dysregulation that all include chronic pain as one of their symptoms. While psychological factors are known to be related to the etiology, maintenance, and exacerbation of pediatric FAPDs, the literature has evolved over the past two decades from a focus on anxiety and depression to a focus on the role of pain-specific cognitions, coping strategies, and parental reaction to a child’s pain. This narrative literature review summarizes literature on both child and parent psychological factors in pediatric FAPDs.