Laura A Wright

• Ph.D.
• PostDoc Position at Boston Children's Hospital

Objective: To apply resilience theory and the extant literature to propose a resilience-risk model for pediatric chronic pain and provide an agenda for research and clinical practice in pediatric chronic pain resilience. METHOD: Literature review to develop a resilience-risk model for pediatric chronic pain. RESULTS: The chronic pain literature ha...

Objective To examine a computerized parent training program, “Bear Essentials,” to improve parents’ knowledge and coaching to help relieve preschoolers’ immunization distress. Method In a randomized controlled trial, 90 parent–child dyads received Bear Essentials parent training plus distraction, distraction only, or control. Outcomes were parent k...

Although prior research has shown lower intellectual functioning across pediatric solid organ transplant recipients relative to matched siblings or norm comparisons, few studies have assessed intellectual and academic performance prior to transplant across organ groups. The current data examine intellectual and academic functioning in children bein...

Objective Fear of pain and pain catastrophizing are prominent risk factors for pediatric chronic pain-related maladjustment. Although resilience has largely been ignored in the pediatric pain literature, prior research suggests that optimism might benefit youth and can be learned. We applied an adult chronic pain risk-resilience model to examine th...

This chapter provides a brief overview of paediatric procedural pain, highlighting some of the negative repercussions of untreated pain. The behavioural approach of distraction is covered in depth, starting with the theoretical underpinnings of this pain management intervention and then summarizing the distraction literature across children’s pain...

Rats' voluntary ethanol intake varies with dispositional factors and energy status. The joint influences of these were of interest here. We previously reported that rats selectively bred for high voluntary saccharin intake (HiS) consume more ethanol and express more robust conditioning of preference for flavors paired with voluntarily consumed etha...

Population studies in the United States and abroad have shown that the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common among adults and children for cancer prevention, the slowing of cancer progression, and the palliation of symptoms and side effects of cancer treatment. The purpose of the current chapter is to inform health care prof...

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, disabling disease that can compromise mobility, daily functioning, and health-related quality of life, especially in older adolescents and young adults. In this project, we will compare a standardized Iyengar yoga program for young people with rheumatoid arthritis to a standard care wait-list control condition. Se...

Introduction Irritable bowel syndrome affects as many as 14% of high school-aged students. Symptoms include discomfort in the abdomen, along with diarrhea and/or constipation and other gastroenterological symptoms that can significantly impact quality of life and daily functioning. Emotional stress appears to exacerbate irritable bowel syndrome sym...