Predicting Pain on Temperament and Character Dimensions, Personality Features, in Patients with Chronic Pain

Introduction: Chronic Pain is a common and debilitating condition that little effort has been made to understand, diagnose and treat it. Previous studies have shown the role of psychological and personality disorders in maintaining chronic pain. The aim of the present study is prediction of pain based on trait and state dimensions, personality characteristics among patients suffering from chronic pain. Methods: This study is a correlation study. 230 patients suffering from chronic pain were selected by convenience sampling among pain clinics of Shiraz city. Data were gathered by Demographic Questionnaire, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI, Cloninger) and NEO Brief Questionnaire (60 questions) and were analyzed using multiple regression (stepwise regression), Pierson`s Correlation Coefficient and SPSS18 software.Results: The results indicated that components of harm-avoidance and self-transcendence in pain severity, components of harm-avoidance, reward-dependant and self-transcendence in pain interference in daily routines were able to predict chronic pain positively. Also, from Big Five factors of personality, neuroticism was a positive predictor of pain.Conclusion: The results show that mood features and personality characteristics influence on pain maintaining and severity in patients suffering from chronic pain