"Pain Can't Stop Me": Examining Pain Self-Efficacy and Acceptance as Resilience Processes Among Youth With Chronic Headache

Abstract

Objective: To examine pain self-efficacy and pain acceptance in relation to functioning in pediatric patients with chronic headache.

Methods: Participants were 209 youth aged 8-17 years who presented for a multidisciplinary pediatric headache clinic evaluation. They completed measures of pain self-efficacy and pain acceptance and a standard battery of clinical measures including indicators of emotional functioning.

Results: Pain self-efficacy and acceptance were associated with less disability, better school functioning, and fewer depressive symptoms. While taking into account several demographic and pain-related variables, pain self-efficacy had a greater association with less functional disability, while pain acceptance had a greater association with less depressive symptoms and better school functioning.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that both resilience processes can serve to positively interact with functioning and symptoms of depression. Ultimately, this study suggests that higher levels of pain self-efficacy and pain acceptance in an individual experiencing pain are associated with more positive outcomes.

Keywords: chronic and recurrent pain; headache; psychological functioning; resilience.