Pain catastrophizing in athletic individuals: Scale validation and clinical application.
Date
2001
Authors
Tripp, Dean Andrew.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Dalhousie University
Abstract
Description
This research examined the scale validation and clinical application of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) in athletes. The aim of Study 1 was to test for factorial invariance between an athletic and non-athletic population for the PCS (i.e., Helplessness, Rumination, & Magnification). Participants completed the PCS and a sport/activity questionnaire. The PCS was shown to be statistically invariant across athletic and non-athletic samples. The purpose of Study 2 was to examine the PCS in predicting athletes' pain responses with experimental pain. Participants completed the PCS and a cold-water immersion task (2--4°C) for one minute, providing verbal pain ratings. Athletes reported less pain than non-athletes, men reported less pain than women, and catastrophizing significantly predicted pain for athletes. These findings suggest that athletes who catastrophize about pain will experience greater pain. Study 3 examined the relation between pain, pain catastrophizing, and functional disability in a sample of athletes following knee surgery in a prospective design. Catastrophizing was associated with greater post-op pain, Rumination was the lone significant psychological predictor of pain at 24 and 48-hours post-op, and Helplessness was the lone predictor of pain while resting at the 8-weeks post-op. Catastrophizing was not a predictor of disability but at 24-hours post-op predicted pain at 48-hours, and 48-hour catastrophizing predicted disability at 8-weeks post-op. These findings suggest that catastrophizing is a significant factor in pain for athletes following ACL surgery. Studies 1,2,3 show that catastrophizing is a significant factor in pain for athletes in experimental and clinical situations.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 2001.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 2001.
Keywords
Health Sciences, Recreation., Psychology, Clinical., Psychology, Psychometrics., Psychology, Physiological.