Individual differences and the effectiveness of different coping strategies for pain

Abstract

The relationship between individual differences in self-statements and response to self-instruction (SI) and attention diversion (AD) coping strategies for acute pain was investigated. Previous research suggests that an individual's cognitive activity may be an important moderator variable in determining the effectiveness of different coping strategies. Sixty-eight female volunteers were given two cold pressor arm immersions. Subjects were asked to think aloud all thoughts occurring on both trials. On the basis of a median split of negative thinking emitted during the first or baseline trial, subjects were classified as either catastrophizers (CAT) or noncatastrophizers (NCAT). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either SI or AD treatments or to a no-treatment control condition. Subjects were then given the second cold pressor trial. The results showed that NCAT subjects trained with AD improved their tolerance scores significantly more than those trained with SI. The opposite effect was found for CAT subjects. CAT subjects trained with SI showed greater improvement in tolerance scores than those trained with AD. Implications of these results as well as limitations and methodological features of this study are discussed.