The Relationship between Pain Catastrophizing and Headache‐Related Disability: The Mediating Role of Pain Intensity

Abstract

Migraine is one of the most frequent types of headache that impacts patients' function significantly and might be disabling. The purpose of this research was to test the effects of pain catastrophizing along with the mediating role of pain intensity on headache-related disability in migraine patients. This study was descriptive-correlational research. To implement it, 178 patients with migraine selected through convenience sampling filled out three questionnaires: the Headache Disability Inventory (HDI), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and the Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS). To test the mediating role of pain intensity in the relationship between catastrophizing and headache-related disability, regression analysis was employed. Pain catastrophizing was positively correlated with headache-related disability and pain intensity. The proposed model showed that more frequent catastrophizing was associated with higher headache-related disability in patients with migraine, and pain intensity mediated this association. According to our results, there seems to be a high rate of pain intensity and catastrophizing as a maladaptive coping strategy among migraine patients with headache-related disability. Therefore, these variables should be considered in researches and specifically in treatment procedures.

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