Activity Engagement, Pain Willingness, and Catastrophising in chronic pain

Objectives: The objectives of the present study are: to analyse whether Activity Engagement and Pain Willingness, as measured by the Chronic Pain and Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ), predict psychological outcomes in chronic pain patients; to explore whether the relations of AE and PW with psychological outcomes are mediated by catastrophising tendency. Methods: 120 patients seeking treatment for chronic pain completed the CPAQ, the Hospital anxiety and Depression Scale, the Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Hierarchical and linear regression analyses were performed to test the hypothesised relations. Results: The results show that both CPAQ subscales are able to predict psychological outcomes and that several of these correlations are mediated by catastrophizing. Conclusions: Avoidance (activity disengagement and pain unwillingness) of chronic pain is a predictive factor for the development of psychological outcomes as depression, anxiety, and, specifically, anxiety related to pain. Moreover, these relations seem to be mediated by the tendency to catastrophise