THE EFFECT OF CHILDREN’S TEMPERAMENT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL ANXIETY AND POSTOPERATIVE PAIN Nguyen, Therese Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care

The intent of this study was to determine the role of temperament in the context of the established relationship between parent preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain in pediatric surgical patients. There is currently a large body of literature that indicates preoperative anxiety as a predictor for postoperative pain. There are also some studies that focus on temperament and its association with pain and pain management. The purpose of this study is to examine these constructs in one model. A total of 240 pediatric surgical patients, ages 0-18, participated in this study. Before surgery, willing parents completed surveys, which measured their own anxiety and their children’s baseline temperament. Both parents and children completed postoperative pain reports on postoperative days 1, 3, and 7. Bivariate correlations revealed that child emotionality and shyness affected parent-report of pain differently than it did child self-report of pain. However, the data failed to support our hypothesized model of temperament as a mediator of the relationship between parent preoperative anxiety and children's postoperative pain. Our other predicted model, which had temperament as a moderator of the relationship between parent preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain, was also not significant.