Dispositional pain catastrophising in non-clinical sample: The role of depression, perceived stress and social support

The pain literature highlights the importance of pain catastrophising in understating pain related experiences. Clarifying the pain catastrophising may contribute to better understanding of the pain. This study aimed to understand the relationship between dispositional pain catastrophising and psychosocial variables (i.e., depressive symptoms, perceived stress and social support). Unlike most research, the current study considered pain catastrophising as an outcome. To improve the predictability of dispositional pain catastrophising, participants were asked to complete questionnaires according to their retrospective painful experience (i.e. dental, back pain, etc). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 202 young adults who do not suffer from chronic pain. Outcome measures include the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care (BDI-PC), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Dispositional pain catastrophizing was found to be positively related to depressive symptoms and perceived stress, yet negatively related to perceived social support. When these psychosocial variables were included in the same regression model, perceived social support was no longer a significant factor for pain catastrophizing. Depression was the most important predictor in the model. The findings showed that psychosocial factors may contribute to pain catastrophizing.