Cumulative Lifetime Violence Severity and Chronic Pain in a Community Sample of Canadian Men.

OBJECTIVE: To create a descriptive profile of chronic pain severity in men with lifetime cumulative violence histories, as a target and/or a perpetrator, and investigate how chronic pain severity is associated with and predicted by lifetime cumulative violence severity and known determinants of chronic pain.

METHODS: Analysis of variance and binary logistic regression were performed on data collected in an online survey with a community convenience sample of 653 men who reported experiences of lifetime violence.

RESULTS: The prevalence of high-intensity / high-disability pain in men with lifetime violence was 35.8%. Total Cumulative Lifetime Violence Severity-44 (CLVS-44) scores were significantly associated with high-intensity / high-disability chronic pain measured by the Chronic Pain Grade Scale (odds ratio= 8.40). In a model with 10 CLVS-44 subscale scores, only psychological workplace violence as a target (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]= 1.44) and lifetime family physical violence as a target (aOR= 1.42) significantly predicted chronic pain severity. In a multivariate model, chronic pain severity was predicted by CLVS-44 total score (aOR= 2.69), age (aOR= 1.02), injury with temporary impairment (aOR= 1.99), number of chronic conditions (aOR= 1.37), and depressive symptoms (aOR= 1.03).

CONCLUSION: The association between lifetime cumulative violence severity and chronic pain severity in men is important new information suggesting the need for trauma- and violence-informed approaches to assessment and intervention with men. This is the first analysis using CLVS-44 subscales to understand which configurations of lifetime cumulative violence may be most predictive of chronic pain severity; further investigation is needed to confirm these findings.