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Published on: April 5, 2019
Sensory Sensitivity and Strategies for Coping With Pain
Pamela J Meredith1, Georgia Rappel2, Jenny Strong3
1Pamela J. Meredith, PhD, is Senior Lecturer, Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia; p.meredith@uq.edu.au.
Objective:
Our goal was to investigate the relationship between sensory processing styles and use of pain coping strategies in an experimental setting to understand individual differences in pain coping.
Method:
A cross-sectional design was used with a convenience sample of 116 healthy adults. Measures of sensory processing style and mood state were collected before participation in a cold pressor pain-inducement task, and measures of coping strategies were collected afterward. Multiple regression models were constructed to examine relationships between sensory processing and coping strategies.
Results:
Sensory sensitivity and sensation avoiding were significantly associated with higher levels of catastrophizing. Sensation seeking was linked with active coping strategies, such as coping self-statements. Low registration was not significantly associated with any particular coping strategy after controlling for salient variables.
Conclusion:
This study highlights associations between sensory processing and pain coping strategies, which may inform more tailored approaches to clinical practice for people in pain.
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