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Pain beliefs: assessment and utility
David A Williams1, Michael E Robinson, Michael E Geisser
1Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20007 USA Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 USA Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 USA.
Pain
|October 1, 1994
Summary
Persistent pain can alter patient beliefs, assessed by the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBPI). New scoring reveals unique links between pain beliefs (Mystery, Self-blame, Permanence, Constancy) and patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Pain Management
- Medical Sociology
Background:
- Persistent pain often leads patients to develop new beliefs about their condition.
- The Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBPI) was developed to assess these evolving pain beliefs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the utility of the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBPI).
- To validate a new scoring method for the PBPI, creating four distinct scales.
- To investigate the associations between these pain belief scales and various pain indices.
Main Methods:
- Four studies were conducted, including factor analytic approaches.
- A novel scoring method was applied to the PBPI, yielding four scales: Mystery, Self-blame, Pain Permanence, and Pain Constancy.
- These scales were correlated with measures of pain quality, psychological states, personality, physical functioning, and coping strategies.
Main Results:
- Factor analysis supported four belief factors within the PBPI.
- Belief in pain constancy correlated with higher pain self-report.
- Pain permanence was associated with anxiety, mystery with overall distress, and self-blame with depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
- The four-scale scoring of the PBPI provides unique insights into patient experiences with persistent pain.
- Each belief scale demonstrates distinct associations with important clinical indicators.
- The findings support the rescoring of the PBPI to better understand the impact of pain beliefs on patient outcomes.