Two-hundred-forty male pain patients were given the MMPI and an extensive pain history questionnaire. A hierarchical clustering procedure was used, and three distinct profiles emerged. One profile was essentially "normal," while a second profile revealed the "hypochondriasis" configuration, and a third was highly elevated on scales which reflect a "psychopathological" type of profile. A discriminant analysis yielded functions correctly classifying over 90% of the subjects in each group. Although the three groups did not significantly differ on age, education, income, IQ, assertiveness, type of pain, or years of pain duration, they did differ on the pain history questions relating to pain severity and pain impact on their lives. The psychopathological group reported significantly more distress than the hypochondriasis group, and the hypochondriasis group reported significantly more distress than the normal group. The implications for pain treatment are discussed.

Data Mining procedures were used to analyze responses of 173 missionaries surveyed about the nature and impact of traumatic stress (TS) they may have experienced while on the field. TS was almost universal, with the most frequent types involving system failure or personal crisis; there was also a high incidence of permanent negative change in those reporting TS, and over a third of these reported continuing symptoms almost a decade post-incident. Non-catastrophic stressors and stressors involving System Failure (particularly those with peer-System Failure) had higher TS impact. Severity, as seen in Total Impact and Total Number of Symptoms, was related to permanent negative change, as was age, with younger missionaries (possibly a generational rather than age or experience issue) being more vulnerable. Both destructive and salutogenic change were associated with TS, but no predictive variables were found for the latter.

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Compared self-concepts of three groups, medical patients, chronic low back pain patients and chronic head pain patients ( N = 60) to determine (1) whether chronic pain r t i e n t s have self-perceptions that differ from other medical patients; (2) w ether changes in self-perception are limited to hysical attributes and capacities; and finally (3) whether persons who suffer ifferent types of chronic pain would have differing self-concepts. Significantly lower self-concepts were obtained from groups of head pain and low back pain patients. Self-concept patterns for the two pain groups were quite similar with the exception of two self-concept components that were significantly lower for the head pain group. Differences were explained in terms of loss of many normal functions and disruption of normal life-styles. Implications for treatment of pain patients and for training of health professionals were discussed.

Fifty-seven male chronic pain patients admitted to an inpatient multimodal pain treatment program at a Midwestern Veterans Administration hospital completed the MMPI, Profile of Mood States (POMS), Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), activity diaries, and an extensive pain questionnaire. All patients were assessed both before and after treatment, and most also were assessed 2-5 months prior to treatment. No significant changes occurred during the baseline period, but significant improvements were evident at posttreatment on most variables: MMPI, POMS, TSCS, RAS, pain severity, sexual functioning, and activity diaries. MMPI subgroup membership, based on a hierarchical cluster analysis in a larger sample, was not predictive of differential treatment outcome. Possible reasons for comparable treatment gains among these subgroups, which previously have been shown to differ on many psychological and behavioral factors, are discussed.