PERCEPTION OF PHYSICAL PAIN IN ACCIDENT AND SUICIDE ATTEMPT PATIENTS - SELF-PRESERVATION VS SELF-DESTRUCTION

The perception of physical pain and its relationship to psychological variables were examined in emergency-room (ER) patients who were admit ted following suicide attempts or accident injuries, and in a control group of community subjects. Two pain measures, involving electric sho cks, were administered to the subjects. Psychological variables includ ed hardiness, body image, body satisfaction feelings about the body, s tressful events, anxiety and depression. Suicidal subjects endured the highest number of shocks, scored lowest on the appraisal of pain, and scored lowest on psychological hardiness. Moreover, it was found that , among the suicidal subjects, the more negative the scores of psychol ogical variables, the higher the endurance of pain. In accident victim subjects, the relationships were exactly opposite. These results were interpreted as reflecting two different core attitudes towards life u nder stressful circumstances: a life-destroying tendency in the suicid al subjects vs. a life-preserving tendency in the accident-victim subj ects. These two core attitudes indicate different modes of defense: de fensive detachment in the suicidal patients and avoidance of stress in the accident victims. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.