The Clinical journal of pain
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Mindfulness and pain catastrophizing are important constructs in pain research, and there are theoretical reasons for suspecting that measures of the 2 constructs should be related in predictable ways. The present study investigated the association of pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale) with mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire was included to control for confounding of worry; the influence of demographics was explored. ⋯ These findings suggest that it is important to assess more general cognitive-emotional constructs, such as worry, when making inferences about the influence of mindfulness or changes in mindfulness upon catastrophic thinking in response to pain.
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Assessing pain in young children requires astute judgment by observers. Multidimensional observational scales for pediatric pain contribute by providing behavioral cues believed to characterize pain in children; yet, few measurement items have undergone rigorous psychometric evaluation. This is the case with facial expression, which has been widely recognized as the most sensitive and specific nonverbal indicator of pain. The criteria for identifying facial expressions of pain differ substantially across scales and are frequently inconsistent with empirical descriptions. ⋯ The facial items varied considerably in coder judgment reliability as well as criterion (empirical and convergent), content, and face validity. Observational scales should provide behavioral cues that correspond to empirical descriptions of the facial expression of pain.
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To investigate whether maternal satisfaction (MS) is taken into consideration as an outcome criterion in clinical research on analgesia for labor. ⋯ A standard and validated tool to assess MS in clinical research on analgesia for labor is still to be developed. Power should be improved by acting on sample sizes or sensitivity of the outcome.
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To identify psychological covariates of longitudinal changes in back-related disability in patients undergoing acupuncture. ⋯ Illness perceptions and, to a lesser extent, self-efficacy and expectancies can usefully supplement variables from the fear-avoidance model in theorizing pain-related disability. Positive changes in patients' beliefs about back pain might underpin the large nonspecific effects of acupuncture seen in trials and could be targeted clinically.
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The aim of this cohort study was to investigate the association between self-reported cardiovascular disorders (CVD) and recovery from whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) after a traffic collision. ⋯ Our results suggest that CVD does not have an impact on the recovery of individuals with WAD.