Role of Parenting Perceptions, Alexithymia, and Attachment in Chronic Pain: A Case–Control Study

This study examined the relationship among alexithymia, attachment styles, and perceived parenting in individuals with chronic pain (CP).This case-control study included 63 patients with CP and 62 healthy individuals.Participants completed questionnaires on sociodemographic and clinical data, the Young Parenting Scale (YPS), Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (ECRI), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).Compared with controls, patients with CP reported statistically significantly higher TAS scores (median [IQR] = 50 [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55] vs. 43 [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48], p<0.001), indicating greater difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions.They also showed significantly higher attachment anxiety levels (69 [55-86] vs. 60 [47-71], p=0.035).Regarding parenting perceptions, CP patients scored higher on several negative subscales: for mothers-Belittling/Criticizing, Permissive/Boundless, Pessimistic/Worried, and Restricted/Emotionally Inhibited; for fathers-Exploitative/Abusive, Permissive/Boundless, and Emotionally Depriving.These findings suggest that individuals with CP experience greater emotional dysregulation, higher attachment anxiety, and more negative early caregiving experiences, especially maternal criticism and paternal abuse or emotional deprivation.Early negative relational environments and difficulties in emotional regulation may contribute to the development or persistence of CP.Addressing these factors could enhance the effectiveness of psychological interventions.Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms in larger cohort studies.