title: Investigation of the relationship between trauma and pain catastrophising: the roles of emotional processing and altered self-capacity.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the interrelationship between posttraumatic stress, emotional processing difficulties, altered self-capacity, and pain catastrophising. A cross-sectional design gathered data from 249 participants completing an internet based survey. Respondents completed: The Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale; Emotional Processing Scale (EPS), the Inventory of Altered Self-Capacities (IASC), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS). Respondents were allocated to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), no-PTSD (depending on whether they met the screening criteria of PTSD using the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale), and control group. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis confirmed the hypotheses: PTSD was significantly associated with pain catastrophising and poor psychological well-being. PTSD was significantly correlated with altered self-capacity which was in turn significantly associated with emotional processing difficulties. Emotional processing was significantly associated with pain catastrophising and poor psychological well-being whilst poor psychological well-being was associated with pain catastrophising. Emotional processing difficulties mediated the association between altered self-capacity and pain catastrophising and poor psychological well-being. To conclude, people's psychological well-being and perceptions of pain are closely related to PTSD severity from past traumas as well as self-capacities. Furthermore, the way in which they process their emotions also has an important role to play.
authors.affiliation: University of Plymouth, Clinical Psychology Teaching Unit, Plymouth, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Selina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horsham
authors.forename: Man Cheung
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D058443:Catastrophization / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult