Abstract
Purpose: Chronic pain is a highly prevalent and distressing condition with limited treatment efficacy. Prior research reports associations between the experience of mental imagery about chronic pain and pain itself, particularly in those with anxiety and depression. However, many aspects of these associations remain unexplored. A better understanding could help improve cognitive-behavioural therapies for chronic pain. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of intrusive pain-related mental imagery in a sample of people with chronic pain, examine the extent to which this imagery explained variation in pain intensity and disability, and examine the association between negative interpretations of imagery and pain. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted. Participants with chronic pain (n = 151) completed standardised measures of anxiety, depression, health anxiety, general imagery use, and an adapted questionnaire about intrusive pain-related imagery. Results: Intrusive pain-related imagery was present in 52.3% of the sample. Demographic variables, anxiety, depression, and health anxiety significantly explained 19% (p <.001) of the variation in pain intensity and 20.2% (p <.001) in pain disability. The presence/absence of intrusive pain-related imagery did not significantly explain any additional variance for either outcome. However negative interpretations of imagery explained additional variance in pain disability. Intrusive imagery was interpreted negatively, experienced as moderately distressing, and was associated with higher rates of anxiety, depression and health anxiety. Conclusions: Experiencing intrusive imagery about pain is common, but its presence or absence appears to have no direct relationship on pain intensity or disability. The relationship is likely to be more complex, warranting further investigation. Negative interpretations of imagery represent a potential treatment target amenable to intervention.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 910-922 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Cognitive Therapy and Research |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 24 Apr 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Oct 2024 |
Data Availability Statement
The data sets generated and analysed during the cur-rent study and analysis scripts are available in the Open Science Frame-
work repository, with the exception of individual level demographic
and pain history data due to concerns about potential identifiability
(available on request): https://osf.io/x7wpt/.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge advice provided on statistical testing by Andrew Chapman of the University of Bath Statistics Advisory Service, and support in the conceptualisation and development of the research topic contributed by Sophie Harris and Edward Hirata, also of the University of Bath.Keywords
- Chronic pain
- Cognitive behaviour therapy
- Imagery
- Imagery-focused cognitive therapy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Psychology