An investigation of the associations between stigma, self-compassion, and pain outcomes during treatment based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic pain.
Front Psychol
; 15: 1322723, 2024.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38379625
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Stigma adversely affects people with chronic pain. The qualities within self-compassion may be particularly useful for buffering the impact of stigma on people with pain. In the context of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based (ACT) treatment for chronic pain, this study investigated the association between changes in stigma and self-compassion and pain outcomes, and the potential moderating role of self-compassion on the association between stigma and pain outcomes. Materials andmethods:
Five-hundred and nineteen patients completed standardized self-report questionnaires of stigma, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, pain intensity and interference, work and social adjustment, and depression symptoms at the start of an interdisciplinary ACT-based treatment for chronic pain. The same measures were completed at post-treatment (n = 431).Results:
The results indicated that key pain outcomes and self-compassion significantly improved during treatment, but stigma did not. Changes in stigma and self-compassion were significantly negatively correlated and changes in these variables were associated with improvements in treatment outcomes. There were significant main effects of stigma and self-compassion for many of the pre- and post-treatment regression models when psychological flexibility was not controlled for, but self-compassion did not moderate the association between stigma and pain outcomes. Stigma remained significant when psychological flexibility variables were controlled for, while self-compassion did not.Discussion:
The findings add to our conceptual understanding of the inter-relationships between stigma, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility and can contribute to treatment advancements to optimally target these variables.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Front Psychol
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom
Country of publication:
Switzerland