title: Self-discrepancies in work-related upper extremity pain: relation to emotions and flexible-goal adjustment.
abstract: Recurrent pain not only has an impact on disability, but on the long term it may become a threat to one's sense of self. This paper presents a cross-sectional study of patients with work-related upper extremity pain and focuses on: (1) the role of self-discrepancies in this group, (2) the associations between self-discrepancies, pain, emotions and (3) the interaction between self-discrepancies and flexible-goal adjustment. Eighty-nine participants completed standardized self-report measures of pain intensity, pain duration, anxiety, depression and flexible-goal adjustment. A Selves Questionnaire was used to generate self-discrepancies. A series of hierarchical regression analyses showed relationships between actual-ought other, actual-ought self, actual-feared self-discrepancies and depression as well as a significant association between actual-ought other self-discrepancy and anxiety. Furthermore, significant interactions were found between actual-ought other self-discrepancies and flexibility, indicating that less flexible participants with large self-discrepancies score higher on depression. This study showed that self-discrepancies are related to negative emotions and that flexible-goal adjustment served as a moderator in this relationship. The view of self in pain and flexible-goal adjustment should be considered as important variables in the process of chronic pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. m.goossens@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors.forename: Mariëlle E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Goossens
authors.forename: Hanne P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Kindermans
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Morley
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roelofs
authors.forename: Jeanine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verbunt
authors.forename: Johan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Vlaeyen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017132:Workplace