The psychological functioning in the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with psychological flexibility and broader functioning in people with chronic pain

Article

Yu, L., Kioskli, K. and McCracken, L. 2021. The psychological functioning in the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with psychological flexibility and broader functioning in people with chronic pain. The Journal of Pain. 22 (8), pp. 926-939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2021.02.011
TypeArticle
TitleThe psychological functioning in the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with psychological flexibility and broader functioning in people with chronic pain
AuthorsYu, L., Kioskli, K. and McCracken, L.
Abstract

Aims: People with chronic pain may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic COVID-19, and psychological flexibility may protect them. This study investigates psychological functioning in the context of COVID-19, including fear and avoidance in the context of COVID-19, specifically its association with daily functioning, and the role of psychological flexibility, among people with chronic pain.
Methods: Responses from 555 adults with chronic pain were collected through a cross-sectional online survey and analysed.
Results: Eight out of ten participants reported significant depression and nearly nine out of ten reported significant functional impairment. COVID-19-related fear and avoidance significantly correlated with pain, pain-related disability, depression, and work and social adjustment (r=18-.32), as well as psychological flexibility processes, including pain acceptance, self-as-context, and committed action, |r|=.13-.30. COVID-19-related fear and avoidance and COVID-19-related interference were significant predictors of some measures of daily functioning beyond demographics and pain, β=.09-.14. However, these associations weakened when psychological flexibility processes were factored into the models, with fear of COVID-19 no longer being a significant predictor of pain-related disability or depression, and COVID-19 avoidance no longer a significant predictor of depression.
Conclusions: The psychological functioning in the context of COVID-19 appears to be negatively associated with daily functioning in people with chronic pain, and is statistically significant in this regard. Psychological flexibility may have a role in these associations for people with chronic pain in the pandemic.

KeywordsCOVID-19; anxiety; fear and avoidance; psychological flexibility; chronic pain
Research GroupApplied Health Psychology group
PublisherElsevier
JournalThe Journal of Pain
ISSN1526-5900
Electronic1528-8447
Publication dates
Online03 Mar 2021
Print06 Aug 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited06 Apr 2021
Accepted18 Feb 2021
Submitted23 Nov 2020
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
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Copyright Statement

© 2021 by United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Web address (URL)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1526590021000328
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2021.02.011
Web of Science identifierWOS:000683573100005
LanguageEnglish
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