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Updated: Jul 24, 2025

Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
Psychic Pain Among Men: Factor Structure, Psychosocial Correlates, and Mediation of Social Connectedness and Suicidal
David Kealy1, Gabrielle B Chartier1, Andreas Walther2
1Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract:
The Psychic Pain Scale (PPS) measures a form of mental pain involving overwhelming negative affect and loss of self-control. Understanding psychic pain among men is needed to advance efforts for preventing male suicide. The present study examined the factor structure and psychosocial correlates of the PPS among 621 online help-seeking men. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a higher-order factor comprising affect deluge and loss of control factors. Psychic pain evinced significant associations with general psychological distress, r = 0.64; perceived social support, r = -0.43; social connectedness, r = -0.55; and suicidal ideation, r = 0.65 (all p 's < 0.001)-the latter three remained significant after controlling for general distress. Psychic pain also mediated the association between social disconnection and suicidal ideation (standardized indirect effect = -0.14 [-0.21, -0.09]), after controlling for social support and distress. Findings support the PPS as a promising measure for investigating psychic pain among men and indicate psychic pain as a link between social disconnection and suicidal ideation.
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