Depression increases subjective stigma of chronic pain

Individuals suffering from mental as well as physical conditions often face stigma, which can adversely affect functioning, treatment seeking, and emotional health. We compared levels of stigma experienced by individuals with depression and/or chronic pain, to contrast the perception of stigma experienced by the sufferers with that of individuals who have never experienced these conditions, and to determine whether depression is related to greater experience of stigma for chronic pain.

Four groups of participants (N=236) took part in the study: depression only, chronic pain only, comorbid depression and chronic pain, and healthy controls. Participants underwent a clinical interview and completed a stigma measure that assessed general self-stigma, public stigma, treatment stigma, secrecy, and stigmatizing experiences.

Healthy controls largely underestimated the stigma experienced by individuals with depression, but were not inaccurate in estimating stigma experienced by individuals with chronic pain. Further, individuals with chronic pain alone generally perceived less stigma for their condition than did those with depression alone. However, comorbid individuals perceived worse stigma of chronic pain compared to individuals with chronic pain alone, suggesting that depression may affect the stigma felt by sufferers of conditions other than depression.

Social desirability may have influenced stigma scores. Comparing several groups required adapting a standardized instrument.

Results suggest that depression may play a role in the social experience of having a health condition, as well as indicate that the general public continues to fail to appreciate the negative social pressures experienced by individuals with mental health conditions.