Pain Resilience and Coping Behaviors in Individuals in a Collectivist Social Context

Pain resilience (PR) may be associated with different coping skills, resulting in differences in pain outcomes. This study aimed to understand the role of PR in dictating the choice of coping methods.

This study completed a preliminary validation of the Mandarin Chinese version of the Pain Resilience Scale (PRS-C) with online survey data (n = 46). Further, we conducted interviews with individuals with chronic low back pain (n = 24).

The PRS-C psychometric properties were assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis. The interviews explored pain history, treatment experiences, and coping strategies and were analyzed thematically. The validated PRS-C (10 items) demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties. The interview results showed that participants who scored lower were more likely to adopt disengagement rather than engagement coping strategies. Qualitative data revealed three themes explaining why and how participants in this collectivist social framework chose their coping methods.

The findings suggest that while participants tried to understand their pain and treatment experiences, the cognitive appraisal construct in PR influenced some of the coping experiences. However, deeply influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism, participants also expressed factors beyond the scope of individual fortitudes, such as the relationship with a higher power that significantly influenced their coping behaviors.