Psychosomatic aspects of chronic pain: a new way of description based on MMPI item analysis

Certain psychic structures which are represented in special configurations of MMPI scale values--the 'neurotic triad' and the 'conversion V'--are said to be typical of chronic pain patients. But considering the problems of reliability and validity of MMPI scales and new theoretical reflections regarding psychosomatic disorders, the diagnostic information given by these scale-based descriptions seems to be low. The present study examines the MMPI patterns of patients suffering from chronic headaches (N = 45) and chronic low back pain (N = 45) in comparison with a control group (N = 33) to obtain more relevant diagnostic information. Both pain groups claim to have strange bodily sensations accompanied by anxiety. Headache patients as well as low back pain patients tend to deny feelings of anger and aggressiveness. In comparison with the control group all pain patients adapt themselves to their immediate social environment to a much higher degree.