Rehabilitation psychology
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Rehabilitation psychology · Nov 2011
Factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in OEF/OIF veterans presenting to a polytrauma clinic.
A significant number of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans are returning from deployment and presenting to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) polytrauma clinics with elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Inherent to the accurate assessment and treatment of this diagnostically complex group of veterans is the assumption that the construct of PTSD is the same in this population as in other trauma groups. To our knowledge, no previous study has examined the structure of PTSD in this relevant and fast-growing population of treatment-seeking OEF/OIF veterans. Evidence suggests that the latent structure of PTSD symptoms is best represented by a four-factor model, rather than the three-factor model found in the current DSM-IV-TR. Thus, we examined the three and four-factor models using the PTSD Check List-Civilian (PCL-C) in a sample of treatment-seeking OEF/OIF veterans seen through a VHA polytrauma clinic. ⋯ Results extend the generalizability of the four-factor model to OEF/OIF veterans presenting to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) polytrauma clinics.
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Rehabilitation psychology · Feb 2015
Observational StudyExamination of self-regulatory efficacy and pain among individuals challenged by arthritis flares.
Public health guidelines for physical activity (PA) for individuals with arthritis are 150 min/week. Self-regulatory efficacy to plan and schedule activity (SRE-SP) was greater for individuals meeting guidelines in studies when symptoms were usual. Extreme symptoms of a flare presumably challenge or block PA adherence. We found it surprising that the question of whether pain intensity and SRE-SP differ within the same person as a function of symptom severity (i.e., flare vs. no-flare) and PA level has not been addressed. ⋯ Regardless of meeting or not meeting PA guidelines, participants reported lower SRE and higher pain intensity during a flare. PA adherence during a flare may require self-regulation of PA to be active, and in particular, to be able to meet recommended guidelines, relative to symptom severity.
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Rehabilitation psychology · Feb 2012
Expanding the social communication model of pain: are adult attachment characteristics associated with observers' pain-related evaluations?
Evaluations of another's pain can have important implications in medical, employment, and social settings. Influenced by the Social Communication Model of Pain, this vignette-based study investigated the potential influence of characteristics of the person being evaluated (viz., the coping strategy used by an individual with chronic pain depicted in a vignette) and characteristics of those making evaluations (viz., self-reported attachment anxiety and avoidance of the study participants). The main hypothesis was that participants higher in attachment avoidance would be more critical in their evaluations than those lower in attachment avoidance. ⋯ The current findings suggest that chronic pain patients' coping styles influence evaluations made about them, and that evaluators' gender and attachment characteristics also have important effects on such evaluations.
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Rehabilitation psychology · Aug 2015
Perceived injustice after traumatic injury: Associations with pain, psychological distress, and quality of life outcomes 12 months after injury.
There is growing recognition that individuals who experience traumatic injuries perceive themselves as victims of injustice and that elevated levels of perceived injustice are associated with problematic physical and psychological outcomes. To date, research regarding injustice perception and injury outcomes has been restricted to a small number of musculoskeletal pain conditions. No research to date has examined the potential impact of perceived injustice among individuals admitted for trauma care. ⋯ This is the first study to examine perceived injustice in a trauma sample. Results support the presence of injustice perception in this group and its associations with pain and quality of life outcomes. Additional research is suggested to explore the impact of perceived injustice on recovery outcomes among individuals who have sustained traumatic injury.
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Rehabilitation psychology · Aug 2014
The role of resilience in adjustment and coping with chronic pain.
In clinical practice, it is often noted that some individuals struggle with chronic pain, while others find effective means to cope. The purpose of this study was to better understand how resilience fits into coping with persistent pain problems. Of interest was whether measures of resilience add to the prediction of adjustment to chronic pain over and above measures of pain coping as typically used with this patient group. ⋯ These findings suggest that, although the construct of resilience appears to have important relationships with various dimensions of chronic pain, as currently operationalized, it does not add significantly to the understanding of chronic-pain adjustment. Rather than abandoning the resilience construct, our findings suggest that resilience as applied to the problem of chronic pain may require a refinement in measurement with this population.