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The relationship between acceptance, catastrophizing and illness representations in chronic pain
D T Gillanders1, N B Ferreira, S Bose
1University of Edinburgh/NHS Lothian Chronic Pain Service, UK. david.gillanders@ed.ac.uk
European Journal of Pain (London, England)
|November 22, 2012
Summary
Chronic pain severity is a poor predictor of dysfunction; psychological factors like pain representations and acceptance significantly influence outcomes. Different rehabilitation approaches may target distinct psychological processes for better results.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Pain Management
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Cognitive and acceptance-based therapies are common for chronic pain.
- The relationship between cognitive representations, catastrophizing, and acceptance in chronic pain is not well understood.
- This study investigates how illness representations and acceptance relate to pain, emotional, and physical functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between cognitive representations of chronic pain, catastrophizing, and acceptance.
- To investigate how these psychological processes influence emotional and physical functioning in chronic pain patients.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional design with 150 chronic pain sufferers.
- Validated questionnaires used to measure pain, emotional/physical dysfunction, illness representations, catastrophizing, and acceptance.
Main Results:
- Psychological variables significantly mediated the impact of pain severity on dysfunction.
- Pain-related emotional dysfunction was mediated by emotive pain representations and catastrophizing.
- Pain-related physical dysfunction was mediated by acceptance and high consequence representations, not catastrophizing.
Conclusions:
- Pain severity alone is a weak predictor of dysfunction in chronic pain.
- Psychological variables significantly mediate the relationship between pain and dysfunction.
- Different chronic pain rehabilitation strategies may need to target distinct psychological processes for optimal outcomes.
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