Rj. Ferguson et Ta. Ahles, PRIVATE BODY CONSCIOUSNESS, ANXIETY AND PAIN SYMPTOM REPORTS OF CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS, Behaviour research and therapy, 36(5), 1998, pp. 527-535
An information processing model of pain symptom perception and reporti
ng predicts that individuals prone to high levels of attentional self-
focus and negative affect will report more pain than individuals low i
n these characteristics. Past research on college student and medical
patient samples has shown that individuals high in private body consci
ousness (PBC), or attentional self-focus and who report higher levels
of anxiety report more pain symptoms than counterparts low in PBC and
anxiety. The present study examined effects of PBC and anxiety on pain
reports of individuals suffering chronic pain (N= 144). Pain patients
suffering chronic headache, low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis and f
ibromyalgia were included in the sample. A non-pain control sample (N
= 31) was also studied to examine potential differences between contro
ls and pain patients. Results indicated that pain patients reporting h
igh levels of PBC reported more pain, although the effects of anxiety
on pain reports among pain patients was not significant. Controls did
not differ from pain patients on PBC, nor did the 4 groups of pain pat
ients differ on PBC, suggesting PBC is a dispositional variable. Impli
cations for the importance of attentional self-focus in pain symptom r
eporting are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese
rved.