A STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FACTORS RELATED TO OSTEOARTHRITIC PAIN IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS: THE APPLICATION OF EGO DEVELOPMENT THEORY TO DETERMINE THE BEST PREDICTORS OF PAIN
Abstract
Lichtenberg (1983) presented the first empirical research on older adults with chronic pain. The results of his study on elderly osteoarthritics indicated that personality, specifically hypochondriasis of the individual, was the most powerful predictor of pain as compared with arthritic severity and recent life stress. Because psychological measures were found to be better predictors of pain than was the severity of the organic disease, further research on psychological predictors was desirable. One purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological predictors related to various aspects of physical and mental health in the elderly (i.e., hypochondriasis, depression, activity, financial satisfaction, daily hassles, emotional bondedness, cognitive coping and physical health behaviors), and perceived pain. Ego development was used as a guiding theoretical framework. Based on this theory, a set of predictors was developed for conformists and another set was developed for post-conformists. The present investigation included 70 subjects with an average age of 67 years. The generalizability of the results is limited due to population restrictions which arose from the sampling methods employed. Some statistical limitations also influenced the interpretation of the results. In spite of these shortcomings, this study indicated that psychological factors were the most powerful predictors of pain as compared with arthritic severity. Hypochondriasis was the single most powerful predictor of pain as compared with all other predictors. A comparison of conformists and post-conformists revealed clear differences in the relationships between pain and the predictors. In both groups psychological measures accounted for more pain than did arthritic severity ratings. More variance was accounted for by psychological predictors in post-conformists than was accounted for by conformists. Conversely, arthritic severity was significantly related to pain in conformists but not significantly related to pain in post-conformists. Conformist and post-conformist arthritics also differed in terms of characteristics associated with advancing age.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy
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