The assessment of anxiety and fear in persons with chronic pain: A comparison of instruments

doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(96)00057-5

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume 34, Issues 11–12, November–December 1996, Pages 927-933

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(96)00057-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

Instruments used to study anxiety and fear responses related to chronic pain vary along two dimensions. They differ in terms of the stimuli or situations that evoke anxiety responses and the types of anxiety responses included (i.e. cognitive, motoric, and physiological). This study examined relations of variables from the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS), the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ), and the trait version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) with variables related to pain severity, perceived disability, and pain behavior. Subjects were 45 consecutive referrals to a university pain clinic who completed these measures during their evaluation. Results suggested that anxiety responses directly related to the patient's particular pain sensations are more relevant to the understanding of chronic pain than are more general tendencies to respond anxiously or fear more varied pain stimuli. Regression analyses showed that empirically selected subsets of the anxiety variables predict from 16 to 54% of the variance in pain severity, disability and pain behavior. Also, assessment of multiple anxiety response types appears useful for understanding pain behavior and disability. Further study of fear and anxiety responses of persons with pain is likely to benefit from careful selection of measures dependent on the stimulus and response dimensions assessed.

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This blinded, multicenter trial in 32 patients with postherpetic neuralgia demonstrates bedside QST is reliable and suitable as a clinical trial outcome. The novel bedside battery could be used in clinical trials or in clinical practice over time given the reliability data presented in this article.
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Pain-related fear is considered a strong psychological predictor for both chronic pain and disability. The aims of this study were to systematically review and critically appraise the concurrent association and the predictive value of pain-related fear affecting both pain intensity and disability in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain (MSK). PubMed, AMED, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubPsych, and the grey literature were searched from inception to January 2019. Observational studies reporting cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between pain-related fear and pain intensity and/or disability were included. The GRADE criteria judged whether the overall quality and strength of the evidence was high or low in terms of risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision and publication bias. Seventy observational studies (97% cross-sectional) were included with a total sample of 15,623 individuals (63.56% females) with chronic MSK. Pain-related fear is composed of fear of pain, pain-related anxiety, and fear-avoidance beliefs. Greater levels of fear of pain, pain-related anxiety, and fear-avoidance beliefs were significantly associated with greater pain intensity and disability. However, the quality and strength of the evidence was very low owing to the imprecision of results, risk of bias, indirectness, and publication bias were common across the included studies. Despite these limitations, these findings highlight the potential role that pain-related fear may play in chronic MSK and disability. The field would benefit from research using higher quality studies and longitudinal designs.
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PROSPERO: CRD42018082018

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The assessment of anxiety and fear in persons with chronic pain: A comparison of instruments

Abstract

Pain

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Pain

Pain

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Pain

Pain

Psychophysiology of chronic pain: do chronic pain patients exhibit symptom-specific physiological responses?

Psychological Bulletin

Assessment of stress-related psychophysiological reactions in chronic back pain patients

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Behavioral methods for chronic pain and illness