Variables psicológicas implicadas en el abuso o consumo indebido de opioides en pacientes con dolor crónico no oncológico / Psychological variables involved in opioid abuse or misuse in patients with chronic non-cancer pain

Las variables psicológicas permiten predecir el riego de abuso de los opioidesde prescripción. El objetivo del presente estudio ha sido analizar el valor predictivode algunas de ellas. Concretamente se ha analizado la asociación del humor deautoafirmación, el neuroticismo, la extraversión, la presencia de síntomas deansiedad y/o depresión, y la intensidad de dolor percibido con el potencial abuso yel uso indebido de opioides. Participaron 60 pacientes con dolor crónico nooncológico, con una media de edad de 60 años, en su mayoría mujeres (77%) ycasados (78%). Se realizaron dos análisis de regresión lineal múltiple por pasos. Losresultados señalan a los síntomas de ansiedad y/o depresión como únicas variablesrelacionadas con el potencial abuso y el actual uso indebido de los opioides deprescripción. Se concluye la importancia de llevar a cabo una evaluación psicológicaprevia al inicio de una terapia farmacológica con opioides. Y, en el caso de detectarsíntomas de ansiedad o depresión en estos pacientes, sería necesario solucionarestos problemas antes de la prescripción de opioides. (AU)

Psychological variables can be used to predict the risk of prescription opioidabuse. The aim of the present study was to analyse the predictive value of a set ofthese variables. Specifically, we analysed the association between the potentialabuse and misuse of opioids and self-affirming mood, neuroticism, extraversion,anxiety and/or depression symptoms, and perceived pain intensity. The samplecomprised 60 patients with chronic non-oncological pain (mean age= 60 years;77% women, 78% married). Two stepwise multiple linear regression analyses wereperformed. The results indicate that anxiety and/or depression symptoms were theonly variables associated with the potential abuse and current misuse ofprescription opioids. We suggest the need for prior psychological assessmentbefore deciding to initiate pharmacological therapy with opioids. Any anxiety or depression symptoms in these patients should be addressed before prescribingopioids. (AU)

Humor Styles as New Resources in a Primary Preventive Perspective: Reducing Resistance to Change for Negotiation.

Reducing resistance to change is fundamental to dealing with the rapid and continuous changes of the 21st century labor market. Personality traits have been widely studied in relation to resistance to change. However, personality is not completely suitable for primary prevention intervention, since it does not change over time. Instead, humor styles appear to be a promising preventive resource to facilitate the negotiation process by enabling individuals to cope with the current work environment. Using a sample of 149 university students, this study analyzed the relationship between personality traits, such as extraversion and emotionality, humor styles, and resistance to change. The mediation analysis highlighted that both affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles could promote integrative negotiations within organizations in relation to change, due to their negative relationships with resistance to change. Thus, implementing dedicated interventions to increase the usage of affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles could help in lowering the failure risk in negotiation processes, supporting changes.

The Relationship Between Humor Styles and Forgiveness.

Research has shown that a factor in a victim's forgiveness of an offender is the victim's ability to make more positive, or at least less negative, attributions of the offender's behavior and that perspective-taking can be a factor in facilitating that process. Self-enhancing humor has been found to be positively correlated with perspective-taking empathy and aggressive humor found to be negatively correlated with perspective-taking empathy. Therefore it was predicted that self-enhancing humor would be positively correlated with forgiveness and aggressive humor negatively correlated with forgiveness. The Humor Styles Questionnaire, the Absence of Negative and Presence of Positive subscales of the Forgiveness Scale, and the Forgiveness Likelihood Scale were administered to 112 college undergraduates. Self-enhancing humor was significantly and positively correlated with all of the forgiveness measures, aggressive humor and self-defeating humor were significantly and negatively correlated with some of the forgiveness measures and affiliative humor was not significantly correlated with any of the forgiveness measures. The results were interpreted in terms of previous findings for humor styles, perspective-taking empathy, depression, self-esteem and anxiety. Future research involving the extent to which other personality variables, such as perspective-taking empathy, mediate the relationship between self-enhancing humor and forgiveness was suggested.