Acceptance of chronic pain in veterans with PTSD based on post-traumatic growth and pain catastrophizing: The mediating role of mindfulness

Objective: Acceptance of chronic pain is one factor affecting veterans' quality of life. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the mediating role of mindfulness in the relationship between chronic pain acceptance of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, post-traumatic growth, and pain catastrophizing. Methods: In this descriptive research, 250 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who were admitted and treated at the Isar Psychiatric Hospital in Ardabil, Iran in 2022, were selected and investigated as a targeted sample. To collect data, the chronic pain acceptance questionnaire (McCracken et al., 2004), the posttraumatic growth questionnaire (Tedeschi and Kallon, 1996), the pain catastrophizing questionnaire (Sullivan et al., 1995), and the mindfulness questionnaire (Brown and Ryan, 2003) were taken advantage of. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: The results confirmed the causal relationship between post-traumatic growth, pain catastrophizing, mindfulness, and acceptance of chronic pain in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder based on various fit indices. Posttraumatic growth, pain catastrophizing, and mindfulness had a direct effect on the acceptance of chronic pain in veterans with PTSD. Also, post-traumatic growth and pain catastrophizing through mindfulness indirectly affected the acceptance of chronic pain in veterans with traumatic stress disorder (P < 0.05). Conclusion: It is suggested to hold educational workshops to reduce the catastrophizing effect of pain and increase post-injury growth, and mindfulness and inform veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder about the effects of accepting chronic pain on their quality of life.