1The Effects of Social Context and Expressive Writing on Pain-Related Catastrophizing and Pain

Adding to research investigating ways for catastrophizers to cope with their pain, the current study examined the ef-fects of social context and the use of expressive writing on pain catastrophizing, pain unpleasantness, and pain in-tensity. A two (observer present or absent) X two (expres-sive vs. control writing) research design was employed; pain was induced experimentally via a cold pressor task; pain catastrophizing, intensity, and unpleasantness were measured by self-report and observation of behavioral indicators of discomfort. It was predicted that the expres-sive writing / observer absent condition would result in the lowest reported pain catastrophizing, unpleasantness, and intensity scores and that subjects in the observer present condition would use more communicative pain behaviors. Results indicated a trend towards lower pain catastrophizing scores in the expressive writing / observer absent condition. There was also a signifi cant correlation between pain behaviors and social context. Everyone experiences pain, but the way pain is experienced differs among individuals. Some people have a more negative response to pain; one example can be seen in individuals who experience pain-related cata-strophizing. Pain-related catastrophizing refers to a negative mental set re-garding pain which heightens the intensity of pain as well as other adverse effects (Giardino, Jense, Turner, Ehde, & Cardenas, 2003). Therefore, it is important to study the behaviors of individuals who experience catastro-phizing to discover ways to prevent and minimize these negative effects. Adding to previous research examining coping strategies for catastroph-izing, the current study examines the effects of social context and expres