Development and Initial Validation of the Pain Resilience Scale

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Pain Research
• Positive Psychology

Background:

• Positive psychology's role in pain experience is increasingly recognized.
• Resilience, the ability to maintain function despite adversity, is a key positive factor.
• Existing general resilience measures show some relation to pain, but a pain-specific measure may be more predictive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel scale measuring resilience specific to the pain experience.
• To test if a pain-specific resilience measure is a stronger predictor of acute pain than general resilience.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to develop the Pain Resilience Scale (Study 1).
• Test-retest reliability and construct validity were assessed, including relationships with positive functioning and pain catastrophizing (Study 2).
• The scale's predictive utility for acute experimental pain (ischemic pain) was compared against general resilience measures (Study 3).

Main Results:

• Factor analyses supported a two-factor structure for the Pain Resilience Scale: Cognitive/Affective Positivity and Behavioral Perseverance.
• The scale demonstrated good reliability and construct validity, with expected correlations with related psychological measures.
• The Pain Resilience Scale showed stronger relationships with acute ischemic pain responses compared to general resilience measures.

Conclusions:

• The Pain Resilience Scale is a valid and reliable measure of cognitive/affective positivity and behavioral perseverance in the context of pain.
• This pain-specific resilience measure demonstrates predictive utility for individual differences in acute experimental pain responses.