Relationship of sexual and physical abuse to pain description, coping, psychological distress, and health-care utilization in a chronic pain sample.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association of physical/sexual abuse to pain description, coping, psychological distress, and health-care utilization in a heterogeneous sample of chronic pain patients.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional, retrospective design was used. Patients were categorized as abused (n = 22) or nonabused (n = 58) based on responses to a valid and reliable sexual/physical abuse questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain description (Visual Analog Scale measures of pain intensity and frequency, and the McGill Pain Questionnaire); coping ability and attributional style (Functional Interference Estimate, Self-Control Schedule, Pain Locus of Control Scale); psychological distress (SCL-90-R Global Severity Index); and a Health-care utilization measure.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: No differences between abused and nonabused groups were found for the pain description or functional interference variables. Compared to the nonabused group, the abused group had significantly lower Self-Control Schedule scores, higher Pain Locus of Control Scale Chance Factor scores, and higher SCL-90-R Global Severity Index scores and was more likely to use the emergency room for pain symptoms. These results replicate the findings of previous studies of the effects of abuse in more specific pain samples and underscore the importance of assessment of abuse in patients with chronic pain. The data suggest that interventions which involve coping-skills training or self-control management of pain may be affected by an abuse history via reduced perceptions of efficacy, resourcefulness, and beliefs that external variables are responsible for pain.