Romancing with Pain: A Survey Study of Young Adults with Chronic Pain

Background: Developing and maintaining romantic relationships is a hallmark of entry to adulthood. Studies suggest that young people with chronic pain often experience social challenges engaging in romantic intimacy, but these studies are limited as they (1) combined participants who were and were not in romantic relationships and (2) focused solely on heterosexual romantic relationships. It is unknown how young adults with chronic pain, inclusive of diverse genders and sexual orientations, perceive themselves on romantic relationship factors. 

Purpose: To determine how pain-related factors are associated with romantic relationship factors when young adults with chronic pain are actively in a romantic relationship. 

Design: An online cross-sectional survey using validated questionnaires assessed chronic pain characteristics, romantic relationship factors, social well-being, and demographics. A social media campaign recruited 72 young adults (18-25 years) who were in a romantic relationship regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification. 

Results: Pain characteristics, not demographics, explained 23.6% of the variance in romantic relationship anxiety, suggesting that pain contributed to concerns about an individual needing their partner's approval and distress when their partner is unresponsive to their needs. Pain characteristics did not impact participants’ present relationship satisfaction, but negatively impacted loneliness. Interestingly, loneliness was negatively associated with romantic relationship factors. 

Conclusions: Nurses and members of the interprofessional team should reassure young adults with chronic pain that pain is not necessarily a limiting factor in romantic relationship satisfaction. Additionally, clinical staff should also assess loneliness as romantic relationships alone are insufficient in decreasing loneliness within this population.