TY - JOUR
T1 - The “self” in pain: the role of psychological inflexibility in chronic pain adjustment
AU - KWOK, Silvia Sze Wai
AU - CHAN, Esther Chin Chi
AU - CHEN, Phoon Ping
AU - LO, Barbara Chuen Yee
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Self-discrepancy occurs when a person feels the failure to fulfill one’s hopes or responsibilities. Although self-discrepancy has been widely examined to elucidate patients’ chronic pain adjustment, the underlying mechanism is unclear. The present study proposes that the effect of self-discrepancy on pain outcomes is accounted for by psychological inflexibility, which involves the psychological processes that guide behaviors in the pursuit of goals and values. One-hundred patients with chronic pain were recruited from a public hospital. They were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview regarding their self-discrepancy and complete self-reported questionnaires regarding their psychological inflexibility and pain outcomes. The results confirmed that psychological inflexibility partly accounts for the variance observed between self-discrepancy and pain outcomes. The current study provides additional insight into the mechanism underpinning the impact of self-discrepancy on patients’ pain adjustment and offers clinical implications regarding the use of acceptance commitment therapy for chronic pain management.
AB - Self-discrepancy occurs when a person feels the failure to fulfill one’s hopes or responsibilities. Although self-discrepancy has been widely examined to elucidate patients’ chronic pain adjustment, the underlying mechanism is unclear. The present study proposes that the effect of self-discrepancy on pain outcomes is accounted for by psychological inflexibility, which involves the psychological processes that guide behaviors in the pursuit of goals and values. One-hundred patients with chronic pain were recruited from a public hospital. They were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview regarding their self-discrepancy and complete self-reported questionnaires regarding their psychological inflexibility and pain outcomes. The results confirmed that psychological inflexibility partly accounts for the variance observed between self-discrepancy and pain outcomes. The current study provides additional insight into the mechanism underpinning the impact of self-discrepancy on patients’ pain adjustment and offers clinical implications regarding the use of acceptance commitment therapy for chronic pain management.
KW - Acceptance
KW - Chronic pain
KW - Goal pursuit
KW - Psychological inflexibility
KW - Self-discrepancy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84976307927&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://commons.ln.edu.hk/sw_master/7528
U2 - 10.1007/s10865-016-9750-x
DO - 10.1007/s10865-016-9750-x
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
C2 - 27278752
VL - 39
SP - 908
EP - 915
JO - Journal of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Journal of Behavioral Medicine
SN - 0160-7715
IS - 5
ER -
