Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Author: Lene Therese B. Linnemørken. Title: Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Chronic Pain Patients: A major Challenge. Supervisor: Silje Endresen Reme. Introduction: The co-occurrence between chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often goes unrecognized in clinical settings, even though research suggest that treatment of either disorder may be compromised by such co-existence. To our knowledge, only one study has assessed the prevalence of PTSD following DSM-IV criteria in patients consecutively referred for pain rehabilitation in Scandinavia. Further, several factors possibly associated with the co-occurrence of chronic pain and PTSD are yet to be investigated. Preliminary studies suggest that pain catastrophizing, feelings of self-efficacy, and perceived injustice play important roles when the two conditions co-occur, but the relations between these factors and PTSD among chronic pain patients are still not well understood. Aim: The main objective of the current paper was to assess the prevalence of PTSD among chronic pain patients in a Norwegian hospital pain clinic. The second objective was to investigate a possible association between PTSD and pain severity, disability, psychological distress, pain catastrophizing, feelings of self-efficacy, and perceived injustice among chronic pain patients. Method: 101 patients referred for assessment at a multidisciplinary pain clinic in Norway were screened for PTSD, pain severity, disability, psychological distress, pain catastrophizing, feelings of self-efficacy, and perceived injustice at admission. The Revised Impact of Events Scale (IES-R) was used to assess symptoms of PTSD, and participants were categorized as “with PTSD” or “without PTSD” based on a validated IES-R cut-off score. Group differences on the biopsychosocial variables where then analyzed by chi-square tests. Results: The results of this study indicated that 25% of the participants met the criteria for a possible diagnosis of PTSD following DSM-IV. PTSD was associated with more severe pain, more disability, and higher levels of psychological distress, as well as higher levels of pain catastrophizing and perceived injustice. Conclusion: The finding that one-quarter of the participants presented with symptoms of PTSD at a significant level supports the need for recognition of PTSD in clinical settings. PTSD is associated with a wide range of biopsychosocial characteristics that may maintain or exacerbate the chronic pain condition, as well as compromise treatment success.
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2591830600