The British journal of clinical psychology / the British Psychological Society
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Review Meta Analysis
Psychological functioning of people living with chronic pain: a meta-analytic review.
Chronic pain (CP; >3 months) is a common condition that is associated with significant psychological problems. Many people with CP do not fit into discrete diagnostic categories, limiting the applicability of research that is specific to a particular pain diagnosis. This meta-analysis synthesized the large extant literature from a general CP, rather than diagnosis-specific, perspective to systematically identify and compare the psychological problems most commonly associated with CP. ⋯ Positive clinical implications: This is the first time that the CP literature has been synthesized from a general perspective to examine psychological functioning in the presence of CP and provide practical recommendations for assessment and therapy. Individuals with CP were most likely to experience psychological problems in physically focussed areas - namely pain anxiety/concern and somatization. Although fear of pain was intrinsically tied to the CP experience, self-efficacy was not. CP was more strongly associated with anxiety than with depression. Limitations The study focuses on the general CP literature, adults and research-utilizing self-report measures. Meta-analyses are limited by the empirical literature on which they are based.