Objective:

To evaluate the current status of pain catastrophizing and its associated factors in parents of children after polydactyly or syndactyly surgery, highlighting its significance for postoperative care.

Key Findings:

• 206 parents participated, with a total parental pain catastrophizing score of 41.86 ± 5.19 points, statistically significant (p < 0.001).
• The helplessness subscale score was 18.74 ± 2.83, rumination was 13.25 ± 2.18, and magnification was 9.87 ± 1.65, all showing significant associations.
• Child's age, number of surgeries, parental gender, residence, marital status, and pain knowledge training were independently associated with pain catastrophizing (p < 0.001).

Interpretation:

Parents exhibited a relatively high level of pain catastrophizing, with marital status showing the strongest association among the factors analyzed, indicating a need for targeted support strategies.

Limitations:

• Cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
• Subscale score comparisons are not interpretable due to different item numbers.
• Potential biases in self-reported data may affect the results.

Conclusion:

Identifying factors associated with parental pain catastrophizing can inform the development of individualized support strategies for families post-surgery, and future research should explore causality.