Extract

As a psychologist who studies pediatric pain, I frequently get questions about my area of interest from people outside of my field. The most common is an incredulous, “Children have chronic pain?” This question provides me with an opportunity to offer people a bit of psycho-education about a commonly overlooked pediatric health problem and to talk about my research. To most people, studying pain in children sounds like a painful endeavor. But as crazy as it may sound, studying pain is “not-so” painful. Yes, there are jokes and comments from strangers at parties, and of course the usual research-related struggles (e.g., obtaining grant funding, finding sufficient nonclinical time). That said, pain is a fascinating subject area that bridges basic science and clinical research in new and exciting ways. By definition, pain is a subjective interpretation of an objective experience. It provides a rich opportunity for examining the intersection among individual differences, biological factors, and environmental influences that we as psychologists love to explore.

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