Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain

Brandon Alton Scott; Thomas Barnes Virden III; Krista Perdue

doi:doi:10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

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Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain

Brandon Alton Scott, Thomas Barnes Virden III, Krista Perdue

Published in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 5)

Received: 1 October 2021 Accepted: 20 October 2021 Published: 29 October 2021

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Abstract

Within the past two decades, research on the treatment of chronic pain with opioid medication has attempted to understand the complex relationship between psychological factors, subjective pain experience, and prescription opioid use. Specifically, fear and psychological inflexibility factors have been explored in relation to both pain sensation and opioid dose. The current study aims to explore and enhance the understandings of brief, subjective self-report measures of fear in relation to opioid dose, subjective fear, self-reported pain, and psychological inflexibility processes. This study examined whether (1) a quadratic relationship would exist between pain scores and opioid dose; (2) individuals with higher opioid dosages would have higher psychological inflexibility scores and subjective fear of pain scores; (3) subjective fear scores, in concert with psychological inflexibility pain measures, would be predictive of pain scores, and (4) subjective fear scores would positively correlate to psychological inflexibility pain measures. The final sample consisted of 202 respondents of an online survey for chronic pain. Survey measures included the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire (CPG), the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS), Subjective Fear of Pain when in Low Pain (FlowP), and when in No Pain (FnoP). Opioid dosage for each participant was converted to the standardized Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME). A significant quadratic relationship between the CPG and MME was found (p=0.016). MME scores were ns in relation to Subjective Fear of Pain scores or PIPS. FlowP and FnoP, however, did predict overall pain scores for participants (p<0.001). Overall pain scores also showed a positive moderate relationship with overall PIPS scores (r(200)=0.673, p<0.001). FlowP and PIPS together explained 45.7% of the variance of pain scores (F(2,199) = 83.640, p=0.003, R=0.676, R²=0.457) with FnoP and PIPS explaining slightly less at 44.8% (F(2,187)=76.002, p<0.001, R=0.670, R²=0.448). FlowP, however, showed slightly stronger correlations to overall PIPS scores (r(200)=0.648, p<0.001) when compared to FnoP (r(188)=0.589, p<0.001). These findings support previous research indicating a quadratic relationship between pain and opioid dose. Higher pain scores were correlated to higher scores on PIPS and subjective fear of pain questions. Of benefit, the subjective fear of pain questions showed some minor predictability when used as a two-question predictor of pain. Our results not only support previous research underlying the relationship between opioid dose and pain but expand on insight into the use of short-form, fear-related questions to predict psychometrics such as psychological inflexibility and pain sensation.

Published in	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
Page(s)	178-182
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Psychological Flexibility, Pain, Opioid Use, Subjective Fear

References

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APA Style

Brandon Alton Scott, Thomas Barnes Virden III, Krista Perdue. (2021). Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 10(5), 178-182. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

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ACS Style

Brandon Alton Scott; Thomas Barnes Virden III; Krista Perdue. Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2021, 10(5), 178-182. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

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AMA Style

Brandon Alton Scott, Thomas Barnes Virden III, Krista Perdue. Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain. Psychol Behav Sci. 2021;10(5):178-182. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

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@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13,
  author = {Brandon Alton Scott and Thomas Barnes Virden III and Krista Perdue},
  title = {Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain},
  journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {5},
  pages = {178-182},
  doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20211005.13},
  abstract = {Within the past two decades, research on the treatment of chronic pain with opioid medication has attempted to understand the complex relationship between psychological factors, subjective pain experience, and prescription opioid use. Specifically, fear and psychological inflexibility factors have been explored in relation to both pain sensation and opioid dose. The current study aims to explore and enhance the understandings of brief, subjective self-report measures of fear in relation to opioid dose, subjective fear, self-reported pain, and psychological inflexibility processes. This study examined whether (1) a quadratic relationship would exist between pain scores and opioid dose; (2) individuals with higher opioid dosages would have higher psychological inflexibility scores and subjective fear of pain scores; (3) subjective fear scores, in concert with psychological inflexibility pain measures, would be predictive of pain scores, and (4) subjective fear scores would positively correlate to psychological inflexibility pain measures. The final sample consisted of 202 respondents of an online survey for chronic pain. Survey measures included the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire (CPG), the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS), Subjective Fear of Pain when in Low Pain (FlowP), and when in No Pain (FnoP). Opioid dosage for each participant was converted to the standardized Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME). A significant quadratic relationship between the CPG and MME was found (p=0.016). MME scores were ns in relation to Subjective Fear of Pain scores or PIPS. FlowP and FnoP, however, did predict overall pain scores for participants (p2=0.457) with FnoP and PIPS explaining slightly less at 44.8% (F(2,187)=76.002, p2=0.448). FlowP, however, showed slightly stronger correlations to overall PIPS scores (r(200)=0.648, p<0.001) when compared to FnoP (r(188)=0.589, p<0.001). These findings support previous research indicating a quadratic relationship between pain and opioid dose. Higher pain scores were correlated to higher scores on PIPS and subjective fear of pain questions. Of benefit, the subjective fear of pain questions showed some minor predictability when used as a two-question predictor of pain. Our results not only support previous research underlying the relationship between opioid dose and pain but expand on insight into the use of short-form, fear-related questions to predict psychometrics such as psychological inflexibility and pain sensation.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain
AU  - Brandon Alton Scott
AU  - Thomas Barnes Virden III
AU  - Krista Perdue
Y1  - 2021/10/29
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
T2  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
JF  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
JO  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
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EP  - 182
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7845
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
AB  - Within the past two decades, research on the treatment of chronic pain with opioid medication has attempted to understand the complex relationship between psychological factors, subjective pain experience, and prescription opioid use. Specifically, fear and psychological inflexibility factors have been explored in relation to both pain sensation and opioid dose. The current study aims to explore and enhance the understandings of brief, subjective self-report measures of fear in relation to opioid dose, subjective fear, self-reported pain, and psychological inflexibility processes. This study examined whether (1) a quadratic relationship would exist between pain scores and opioid dose; (2) individuals with higher opioid dosages would have higher psychological inflexibility scores and subjective fear of pain scores; (3) subjective fear scores, in concert with psychological inflexibility pain measures, would be predictive of pain scores, and (4) subjective fear scores would positively correlate to psychological inflexibility pain measures. The final sample consisted of 202 respondents of an online survey for chronic pain. Survey measures included the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire (CPG), the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS), Subjective Fear of Pain when in Low Pain (FlowP), and when in No Pain (FnoP). Opioid dosage for each participant was converted to the standardized Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME). A significant quadratic relationship between the CPG and MME was found (p=0.016). MME scores were ns in relation to Subjective Fear of Pain scores or PIPS. FlowP and FnoP, however, did predict overall pain scores for participants (p2=0.457) with FnoP and PIPS explaining slightly less at 44.8% (F(2,187)=76.002, p2=0.448). FlowP, however, showed slightly stronger correlations to overall PIPS scores (r(200)=0.648, p<0.001) when compared to FnoP (r(188)=0.589, p<0.001). These findings support previous research indicating a quadratic relationship between pain and opioid dose. Higher pain scores were correlated to higher scores on PIPS and subjective fear of pain questions. Of benefit, the subjective fear of pain questions showed some minor predictability when used as a two-question predictor of pain. Our results not only support previous research underlying the relationship between opioid dose and pain but expand on insight into the use of short-form, fear-related questions to predict psychometrics such as psychological inflexibility and pain sensation.
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Brandon Alton Scott

Clinical Psychology, Midwestern University, Glendale, USA
Thomas Barnes Virden III

Clinical Psychology, Midwestern University, Glendale, USA
Krista Perdue

Clinical Psychology, Midwestern University, Glendale, USA

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APA Style

Brandon Alton Scott, Thomas Barnes Virden III, Krista Perdue. (2021). Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 10(5), 178-182. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

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ACS Style

Brandon Alton Scott; Thomas Barnes Virden III; Krista Perdue. Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2021, 10(5), 178-182. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

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AMA Style

Brandon Alton Scott, Thomas Barnes Virden III, Krista Perdue. Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain. Psychol Behav Sci. 2021;10(5):178-182. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13,
  author = {Brandon Alton Scott and Thomas Barnes Virden III and Krista Perdue},
  title = {Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain},
  journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {5},
  pages = {178-182},
  doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20211005.13},
  abstract = {Within the past two decades, research on the treatment of chronic pain with opioid medication has attempted to understand the complex relationship between psychological factors, subjective pain experience, and prescription opioid use. Specifically, fear and psychological inflexibility factors have been explored in relation to both pain sensation and opioid dose. The current study aims to explore and enhance the understandings of brief, subjective self-report measures of fear in relation to opioid dose, subjective fear, self-reported pain, and psychological inflexibility processes. This study examined whether (1) a quadratic relationship would exist between pain scores and opioid dose; (2) individuals with higher opioid dosages would have higher psychological inflexibility scores and subjective fear of pain scores; (3) subjective fear scores, in concert with psychological inflexibility pain measures, would be predictive of pain scores, and (4) subjective fear scores would positively correlate to psychological inflexibility pain measures. The final sample consisted of 202 respondents of an online survey for chronic pain. Survey measures included the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire (CPG), the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS), Subjective Fear of Pain when in Low Pain (FlowP), and when in No Pain (FnoP). Opioid dosage for each participant was converted to the standardized Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME). A significant quadratic relationship between the CPG and MME was found (p=0.016). MME scores were ns in relation to Subjective Fear of Pain scores or PIPS. FlowP and FnoP, however, did predict overall pain scores for participants (p2=0.457) with FnoP and PIPS explaining slightly less at 44.8% (F(2,187)=76.002, p2=0.448). FlowP, however, showed slightly stronger correlations to overall PIPS scores (r(200)=0.648, p<0.001) when compared to FnoP (r(188)=0.589, p<0.001). These findings support previous research indicating a quadratic relationship between pain and opioid dose. Higher pain scores were correlated to higher scores on PIPS and subjective fear of pain questions. Of benefit, the subjective fear of pain questions showed some minor predictability when used as a two-question predictor of pain. Our results not only support previous research underlying the relationship between opioid dose and pain but expand on insight into the use of short-form, fear-related questions to predict psychometrics such as psychological inflexibility and pain sensation.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Self-reported Fear, Psychological Inflexibility and Opioid Dose in Relation to Pain
AU  - Brandon Alton Scott
AU  - Thomas Barnes Virden III
AU  - Krista Perdue
Y1  - 2021/10/29
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
T2  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
JF  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
JO  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
SP  - 178
EP  - 182
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7845
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211005.13
AB  - Within the past two decades, research on the treatment of chronic pain with opioid medication has attempted to understand the complex relationship between psychological factors, subjective pain experience, and prescription opioid use. Specifically, fear and psychological inflexibility factors have been explored in relation to both pain sensation and opioid dose. The current study aims to explore and enhance the understandings of brief, subjective self-report measures of fear in relation to opioid dose, subjective fear, self-reported pain, and psychological inflexibility processes. This study examined whether (1) a quadratic relationship would exist between pain scores and opioid dose; (2) individuals with higher opioid dosages would have higher psychological inflexibility scores and subjective fear of pain scores; (3) subjective fear scores, in concert with psychological inflexibility pain measures, would be predictive of pain scores, and (4) subjective fear scores would positively correlate to psychological inflexibility pain measures. The final sample consisted of 202 respondents of an online survey for chronic pain. Survey measures included the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire (CPG), the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS), Subjective Fear of Pain when in Low Pain (FlowP), and when in No Pain (FnoP). Opioid dosage for each participant was converted to the standardized Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME). A significant quadratic relationship between the CPG and MME was found (p=0.016). MME scores were ns in relation to Subjective Fear of Pain scores or PIPS. FlowP and FnoP, however, did predict overall pain scores for participants (p2=0.457) with FnoP and PIPS explaining slightly less at 44.8% (F(2,187)=76.002, p2=0.448). FlowP, however, showed slightly stronger correlations to overall PIPS scores (r(200)=0.648, p<0.001) when compared to FnoP (r(188)=0.589, p<0.001). These findings support previous research indicating a quadratic relationship between pain and opioid dose. Higher pain scores were correlated to higher scores on PIPS and subjective fear of pain questions. Of benefit, the subjective fear of pain questions showed some minor predictability when used as a two-question predictor of pain. Our results not only support previous research underlying the relationship between opioid dose and pain but expand on insight into the use of short-form, fear-related questions to predict psychometrics such as psychological inflexibility and pain sensation.
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -

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