Pain Severity, Illness Appraisal and Pain Acceptance in Patients with Chronic Pain Conditions

The present study used a correlational research design to look into the association across pain severity (PS), illness appraisal (IA) and pain acceptance (PA) among individuals struggling with chronic pain. A purposive sample of 120 chronic pain patients from the Outpatient Departments of both private and government tertiary care hospitals of Lahore was obtained. The participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire booklet including a demographic questionnaire, West Haven Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire, and Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire. The findings revealed significant associations between pain severity, its subscales and pain acceptance. Timeline, consequences and emotional representations and pain acceptance; treatment control and illness coherence and pain acceptance showed negative correlation. Emotional representation predicted PA and pain willingness; Consequences, Timeline cyclic, affective distress and interference predicted both PA and Activity engagement; Treatment control and distracting responses were better predictors of pain willingness and negative responses was a better predictor for activity engagement. Independent sample t-test indicated that women tend to keep themselves busy with household chores whereas men tend to experience pain with more negative consequences. It was concluded that those who appraised their illness positively showed more acceptance towards their diagnosis and displaying better life regulation. Overall, it was concluded that pain acceptance plays a significant role in the lives of individuals with chronic pain. Hence, the results can be used to enhance empathy among clinical psychologists.