P. Naidoo et Yg. Pillay, CORRELATIONS AMONG GENERAL STRESS, FAMILY ENVIRONMENT, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, AND PAIN EXPERIENCE, Perceptual and motor skills, 78(3), 1994, pp. 1291-1296
For 15 subjects with chronic low back pain and 15 matched healthy cont
rols analysis of scores on Life Experiences Survey (general stress), F
amily Environment Scale (family relationships). Beck Depression Invent
ory (psychological distress), and McGill Pain Questionnaire (pain expe
rience) indicated that the scores on environmental stressors, general
stress, and psychological distress were higher for the group with pain
. They experienced more negative life events and were more depressed.
Certain family characteristics (decreased scores on Cohesion, lndepend
ence, Organization, and increased scores on Conflict) were unique to t
hat group. Finally, certain family variables which did not differentia
te between the groups were associated with the pain experience.