Hendrix, Dana (2025) Parental Empathy and Anxiety in Infant Immunizations: From Pain Expression to Perception. Research Master thesis, Research Master.
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Abstract
Background: Immunization is a common painful experience for infants. This study examined how parental empathy and anxiety relate to parental perceptions of infant pain during infant routine vaccinations, and whether parental pain-related facial expressions mediate these associations. Method: Parent-infant dyads (n = 71) were observed during routine vaccinations of approximately 12-month-old infants in the Netherlands, using data from TRAILS and TRAILS NEXT. Parental empathy was measured with the Adult Social Behaviour Questionnaire and anxiety with the 6-item version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Infant pain was rated by parents on a 11-point scale. Parental pain-related facial expressions were coded by two observers using the Facial Action Coding System. Results: Linear regression analyses revealed no significant associations between parental empathy (b = 0.09, p = .87) or anxiety (b = 0.05, p = .67) and parental perceptions of infant pain, after relevant covariate adjustment. Parental pain-related facial expressions did not significantly mediate the relationship between anxiety (ACME = -0.01, p = .54) or empathy (ACME = 0.05, p = .68) and parental perceptions of infant pain. A secondary Wilcoxon Rank-Sum Test showed that mothers displayed significantly more pain-related facial expressions than fathers (W = 351, p = .01, r = ¬-0.38). Conclusion: No evidence was found for an association between parental empathy or anxiety and parental perceptions of infant pain during vaccination. Observed sex differences in facial expressions warrant further investigation.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Research Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Rot, M. aan het |
| Degree programme: | Research Master |
| Differentiation route: | Mental health: perspectives from Neuro- and Clinical Psychology [Research Master] |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jul 2025 07:12 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jul 2025 07:12 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5640 |
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