Abstract
Chronic pain-related research has increased substantially during the last decade. However, empirical studies addressing mental health interventions to increase self-efficacy and reduce functional impairments is limited. This study investigated whether better functional outcomes (physical and psychosocial daily functioning) and greater self-efficacy among persons with chronic pain is associated with mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and emotional intelligence (N = 148). Two multiple regression analyses, each controlling for demographic factors, indicated that psychological flexibility predicted both daily functioning and self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence predicted self-efficacy among chronic pain clients. Mental health benefits of psychological flexibility and emotional intelligence can therefore potentially be used by psychotherapists to help boost clients’ positive beliefs in, and ability to function with, chronic pain.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis, and drafting of the manuscript was completed by all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Corresponding author is Dr. Joe Rizzo.
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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of The University of Akron.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for the submission of this study, and additional informed consent was obtained from all individuals for whom identifying information was included.
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Rizzo, J.M., Schwartz, R.C. The Effect of Mindfulness, Psychological Flexibility, and Emotional Intelligence on Self-Efficacy and Functional Outcomes Among Chronic Pain Clients. J Contemp Psychother 51, 109–116 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-020-09481-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-020-09481-5