title: Is self-concealment associated with acute and chronic pain?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Self-concealment is the predisposition to hide negative personal information. The present research examined whether self-concealment was associated with acute and chronic pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  In Study 1, undergraduate students (N = 44) completed an online questionnaire packet and then completed a cold-pressor task in the laboratory. In Study 2, individuals with chronic pain (N = 85) completed an online survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study 1: Trait self-concealment was negatively associated with pain tolerance. Study 2: Self-concealment of chronic pain (hiding aspects of one's chronic pain condition from others) was associated with higher levels of self-reported pain and lower psychological well-being, independent of disclosure of feelings regarding pain. Furthermore, this association was mediated by autonomy and competence needs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-concealment was found to be associated with higher levels of pain in both healthy and chronic pain samples. Moreover, the findings also suggest that intervention methods using the self-determination theory framework (i.e., autonomy and competence supportive) might be effective for individuals with chronic pain.
authors: Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. uahmet@metu.edu.tr.
authors: Ahmet
authors: A
authors: Uysal
authors: Qian
authors: Q
authors: Lu
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000523:psychology; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D018907:Privacy / Q000523:psychology*; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult