Implicit associations between pain and self-schema in patients with chronic pain

Abstract

Chronic pain often interferes with daily functioning, and may become a threat to an individual's sense of self. Despite the development of a recent theoretical account focussing upon the relationship between the presence of chronic pain and a person's self, research investigating this idea is limited. In the present study we aimed to (1) compare the strength of association between self-and pain schema in chronic pain patients and healthy control subjects and (2) research whether the strength of association between self-and pain schema is related to particular pain-related outcomes and individual differences of chronic pain patients. Seventy three chronic pain patients (M age =49.95; SD=9.76) and 53 healthy volunteers (M age =48.53; SD=10.37) performed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess the strength of association between pain-and self-schema.Chronic pain patients also filled out self-report measures of pain severity, pain suffering, disability, depression, anxiety, acceptance and helplessness. Results indicated that the pain-and self-schema were more strongly associated in chronic pain patients than in healthy control subjects. Second, results indicated that, in chronic pain patients, a stronger association between self-and pain schema, as measured with the IAT, is related to a heightened level of pain severity, pain suffering, anxiety and helplessness. Current findings give first support for the use of an IAT to investigate the strength of association between self-and pain schema in chronic pain patients and suggest that pain therapies may incorporate techniques that intervene on the level of self-pain enmeshment.

Examining Affective-Motivational Dynamics and Behavioral Implications Within The Interpersonal Context of Pain

“…Ideally, research will draw on multidimensional approaches, including experimental and clinical methodology to optimize the scientific rigor and ecological validity of findings. Given the social desirability inherent in studies of prosocial and caregiving behaviour, inquiry may draw on novel/creative methodologies; for instance, implicit measures may be key to gauging observer self-vs. other-orientations [85].…”

How Does Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Pain Neuromatrix Affect Brain Excitability and Pain Perception? A Randomised, Double-Blind, Sham-Control Study

“…Although there is no evidence showing the effects of a-tDCS of the DLPFC on M1 excitability yet, some anatomical studies suggest that the premotor cortex is divided into dorsal and ventral parts and the dorsal part sends its output to the M1 and spinal cord and receives prominent input from DLPFC [ 70 , 71 ]. DLPFC activity is important during pain for maintenance of information in short-term memory and governing efficient performance control in the presence of painful stimuli by modulation of attention [ 72 , 73 ]. The attention modulation signals from the DLPFC and motor preparation information from the dorsal part of the premotor cortex are received by the M1.…”

Physiotherapists implicitly evaluate bending and lifting with a round back as dangerous

“…These associations can be assessed via computer-based reaction-time tests, which reduce the person's ability to control their response, minimizing effects of social desirability 29,30 . The Implicit Association Test (IAT), is a well-validated and extensively used measure 31,32 , which requires the person to associate words or images as quickly and as accurately as possible 29,33 . The speed with which the person performs the task reflects the 4 strength of the associations, and can indicate the degree of implicit bias 27 .…”