title: Pain location and psychological characteristics of patients with chronic pain.
abstract: The authors assessed psychological characteristics of 140 medical outpatients with chronic non-malignant pain referred for psychiatric consultation. Subjects completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), and Counter-dependency Scale (CDS). The only psychological measure able to differentiate the chronic pain group from the control subjects was the CDS. However, SSAS scores were significantly higher in subjects having pain involving the head, chest, abdomen, or pelvis than in subjects having pain only in their backs or extremities. The latter subgroup had significantly higher CDS scores. The findings suggest that there are discrete subgroups within the chronic pain population defined by pain location and specific psychological characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse 13210, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manring
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*