Use of the Chronic Pain Coping Inventory to Assess Older Adults’ Pain Coping Strategies

IntroductionResearch evidenced the association of pain coping strategies with short-term and long-term adjustments to chronic pain. Yet, previous studies mainly assessed the frequency of coping strategies when pain occurs whilst no data is available on one's flexibility/rigidity in using different pain coping strategies, i.e., pain coping variability, in dealing with different situations.ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the multivariate association between pain coping variability and committed action in predicting concurrent pain-related disability. Specifically, we examined the independent effects of pain coping variability and committed action in predicting concurrent pain-related disability in a sample of Chinese patients with chronic pain.MethodsChronic pain patients (n = 287) completed a test battery assessing pain intensity/disability, pain coping strategies and variability, committed action, and pain catastrophizing. Multiple regression modeling compared the association of individual pain coping strategies and pain coping variability with disability (Models 1–2), and examined the independent effects of committed action and pain coping variability on disability (Model 3).ResultsOf the 8 coping strategies assessed, only guarding (std β = 0.17) was emerged as significant independent predictor of disability (Model 1). Pain coping variability (std β = −0.10) was associated with disability after controlling for guarding and other covariates (Model 2) and was emerged as independent predictor of disability (Model 3: std β = −0.11) (all P < 0.05) (Tables 1 and 2).ConclusionsOur data offers preliminary support for the multivariate association between pain coping variability and committed action in predicting concurrent pain-related disability, which supplements the existing pain coping data that are largely based on assessing frequency of coping.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Chronic Pain Assessment: A Seven-Factor Model

Pain Research and Management ◽

10.1155/2008/976341 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 299-308 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Megan A Davidson ◽

Dean A Tripp ◽

Leandre R Fabrigar ◽

Paul R Davidson

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Factor Model ◽

Pain Catastrophizing ◽

Short Form ◽

Activity Level ◽

Mcgill Pain Questionnaire ◽

Pain Coping ◽

Pain Experience ◽

The Core

BACKGROUND: There are many measures assessing related dimensions of the chronic pain experience (eg, pain severity, pain coping, depression, activity level), but the relationships among them have not been systematically established.OBJECTIVE: The present study set out to determine the core dimensions requiring assessment in individuals with chronic pain.METHODS: Individuals with chronic pain (n=126) completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Chronic Pain Coping Index, Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, McGill Pain Questionnaire – Short Form, Pain Disability Index and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia.RESULTS: Before an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the nine chronic pain measures, EFAs were conducted on each of the individual measures, and the derived factors (subscales) from each measure were submitted together for a single EFA. A seven-factor model best fit the data, representing the core factors of pain and disability, pain description, affective distress, support, positive coping strategies, negative coping strategies and activity.CONCLUSIONS: Seven meaningful dimensions of the pain experience were reliably and systematically extracted. Implications and future directions for this work are discussed.

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