Life events, anxiety, social support, personality, and alexithymia in female patients with chronic pain: A path analysis

Abstract

IntroductionThis study sought to identify a model that explains the relationship between psychosocial factors and chronic pain in female patients, and to explore all of these constructs in a single study and provide a more holistic examination of the overall psychosocial factors that female patients with chronic pain encounter.MethodsFemale patients with chronic pain (n = 147), aged 20–65 (M = 34.9 years, SD = 11.25), from an outpatient pain clinic completed a cross‐sectional self‐report questionnaire on anxiety, life events, personality, social support, and alexithymia. Data were analyzed by means of path analysis.ResultsThe direct effect of anxiety on female patients with chronic pain was greatest among all the paths. Personality and alexithymia led to chronic pain in female patients only indirectly, mediated by life events. The personality factors of neuroticism and extraversion were associated positively with social support, which had an indirect effect on the influence of life events on chronic pain. However, alexithymia was associated negatively with social support, which had an indirect effect on the influence of life events on chronic pain.DiscussionOur findings provide evidence that life events are a mediator in the relationship between personality, social support, alexithymia, and chronic pain in female patients.

The Impact of Resilience, Alexithymia and Subjectively Perceived Helplessness of Myocardial Infarction on the Risk of Posttraumatic Stress

“…According to Meloni et al ( 2016 ), alexithymia describes the difficulty in identifying and describing emotions and the tendency to minimize emotional experiences and to focus the own attention especially on external stimuli. Several studies reported associations of alexithymia with pain and pain intensity (Aaron et al, 2019 ; Zeng et al, 2016 ), social support (Lumley et al, 1996 ; Saikkonen et al, 2018 ; Zeng et al, 2016 ), insecure attachment styles (Romeo et al, 2020 ), psychosocial stress (Terock et al, 2019 ), dissociation and PTSD (Grabe et al, 2000 ; Terock et al, 2016 ) as well as for hypertension and carotid atherosclerosis (Grabe et al, 2010 ). Similar to resilience, alexithymia is often considered as personality trait (Bagby et al, 2021 ; Gao et al, 2015 ).…”

Evaluation of alexithymia in individuals with chronic pain in a Mexican population: Alexithymia in a Mexican population

“…33,34 Therefore, individuals with chronic pain should undergo psychotherapeutic treatment that enable them to break down this vicious circle by improving their ability to detect and distinguish emotions and bodily sensations. 20,35 The importance to consider psychotherapy also relies on the fact alexithymia could result in hypervigilance, increasing somatic sensations and inducing high levels of depression. 36,37 Alexithymia could exacerbate depressive symptoms and pain through the misinterpretation of bodily sensations.…”

Factores asociados a la ideación suicida y el dolor crónico en pacientes adultos mayores asistidos en un hospital general de la ciudad de Buenos Aires

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