Marital and Family Issues in Patients with Chronic Pain

Abstract

This paper attempts to review the relevant literature pertaining to the family issues in chronic pain. To begin with, a rationale is developed for adopting a family approach to the understanding of physical and psychosomatic disorders. Pain literature is examined to demonstrate the significance of family factors in the etiology, perpetuation and treatment of chronic pain. Overall research in this entire field remains somewhat weak and thus the findings are of a tentative nature. On the other hand, the clinical significance of family factors in chronic pain are critical and cannot be ignored. The need for better designed research in this field is of utmost importance.

Modulation of social behavior and dominance status by chronic pain in mice

“…First, pain might reduce sociability among conspecifics, even in sibling dyads, as if to send the message: “leave me alone; I hurt”. Indeed, the progressive social isolation of human chronic pain patients even from family members would support such a prediction. Alternatively, it could be that pain in one or both mice would increase the motivation for strangers to co‐occupy a tube by mooting dominance‐related inhibition, as if to say: “let's not fight; I hurt”.…”

Concubine Syndrome: An Example of Interactionism in the Clinical Assessment of Headache

“…Only with personal effort in psychotherapy, the passage of time, and close medical supervision can a positive prognosis be made for this debilitating condition. Family issues in chronic pain, particularly as they relate to the perpetuation and reinforcement of pain behavior by spouses and family members, have not been well understood, 40 or given proper insight in general medical-clinical assessments. 41,42 This article marks a preliminary attempt to conceptualize and identify those dynamic-interactional factors as they exist within select samples of the general headache population.…”

Untitled

“…Studier på børn med somatiserende mødre eller fra somatiserende familier har fundet, at de havde flere emotionelle og adfaerdsmaessige problemer, større bekymring for deres helbred og flere laegekontakter saerligt med symptomer, der havde karakter af at vaere funktionelle (Craig 2002, Crane 2004, Livingstone 1993. Større faellesskab om helbredsemner samtidig med en generel følelsesmaessig distance i de familiaere relationer er også observeret (Roy 1982). Et tvillingestudie på patienter med irritabel tyktarms syndrom har bekraecet, at betydningen af social indlaering ved udvikling af de7e syndrom er mindst lige så stor som arvelige faktorer (Levy 2001).…”