Pushy parents could be doing more harm than good to their children’s health, researchers said in a study released on Tuesday. Well-meaning parents insisting on batteries of tests for their children, even though their ailment has no apparent physical cause, may not be acting in their best interest.

“A culture of parental consumerism in healthcare, however well intentioned, needs to be accompanied by robust systems to protect the interests of the child,” said Dr. Keith Lindley of the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

He and his colleagues analyzed 23 children who had severe abdominal pain and had been referred to the hospital between 1997 and 2001.

All had been given routine tests to find the cause of the problem without any success. More than half of the youngsters, whose average age was 14, had already seen other doctors.

Although psychological factors can play a role in severe abdominal pain, only 13 families agreed to have their children referred to psychological services, according to the study reported in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Eleven children who received psychological support got better and resumed their normal activities within a year. Only 3 children of the 10 families that refused psychological help improved.