Experiential Avoidance as a Factor in Generalized Psychological Vulnerability: In the Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Pain Anxiety With Pain Disability

Razieh Pak; Majid Mahmoud Alilou; Abass Bakhshipour Roudsari; Fatemeh Yousefpour

doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2024.01.007

Experiential Avoidance as a Factor in Generalized Psychological Vulnerability: In the Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Pain Anxiety With Pain Disability

Pain Manag Nurs. 2024 Feb 27:S1524-9042(24)00009-2. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2024.01.007. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Razieh Pak¹, Majid Mahmoud Alilou², Abass Bakhshipour Roudsari², Fatemeh Yousefpour³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: pak_r@tabrizu.ac.ir.
² Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
³ Faculty of Education and Psychology, Persian Gulf University, Bandar Bushehr, Iran.

PMID: 38418316
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmn.2024.01.007

Abstract

Background: Pain is a major socio-psychological problem worldwide. Chronic pain has a negative effect on areas of psychological functioning such as depression, anxiety, and perceived stress.

Aim: The present study investigated the mediating role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between chronic pain and pain anxiety with pain disability.

Methods: Participants were treatment-seeking patients (N = 361) at an outpatient pain clinic in Shiraz (Fars, Iran). The Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI), Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale (PASS-20), Pain Disability Questionnaire (PDQ), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) were used to measure multidimensional pain, anxiety, pain disability, experiential avoidance, and pain severity.

Results: The results of the correlation revealed that a significant relationship exists between multidimensional pain and pain anxiety, pain disability, and experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance mediated the associations from multidimensional pain and pain disability significantly. Also, experiential avoidance moderated associations between pain anxiety and pain disability significantly. In general, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that experiential avoidance mediated the relationship between multidimensional pain and pain anxiety with pain disability.

Conclusion: In general, the results revealed that experiential avoidance can mediate the relationship among pain, pain anxiety, and pain disability as a maladaptive regulation strategy. The results obtained from this study seem to introduce experiential avoidance as a vulnerability factor effectively.