Breaking the cycle of smoking and pain: do pain-related anxiety and pain reduction expectancies sabotage attempts to quit smoking and can smoking cessation improve pain and pain-related disability outcomes?

Contemporary models of smoking and pain suggest a reciprocal and self-perpetuating cycle, wherein smoking reduces pain in the short term but indirectly exacerbates pain in the long term. In a sample of participants engaged in an active smoking-cessation attempt, this investigation assessed a) whether specific smoking risk factors (i.e., smoking expectancies for pain reduction, pain-related anxiety) acted as barriers to cessation, and b) whether breaking the smoking-pain cycle through successful smoking abstinence impacted pain and pain-related disability outcomes for participants with pain. Participants comprised 168 smokers (44.4% with pain) who engaged in an online smoking-cessation program. Pain-related anxiety, but not smoking expectancies, accounted for a significant proportion of variance of smoking dependence from pre- to post-intervention. Results suggest that pain-related anxiety is a risk factor for maintained smoking dependence for all smokers regardless of pain status. Participants with pain who successfully quit smoking experienced statistically and clinically meaningful decreases in pain and pain-related disability from pre- to post-intervention. Exploratory post hoc analyses indicated that individuals who signed-up for the smoking cessation program but failed to begin a quit-attempt had significantly higher pain disability, depression, and anxiety scores than participants who commenced a quit-attempt. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Intolerance of uncertainty moderates the relations among religiosity and motives for religion, depression, and social evaluation fears

OBJECTIVES

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) underlies several psychological disorders, and religion may help some individuals cope with IU and/or protect against psychological symptoms. It was hypothesized that IU would moderate the relations between coping motives for being religious, as well as religiosity, and common psychological disorder symptoms: Depression and social evaluation fears.

METHODS

Study 1 included 473 self-reporting community members (M _age  = 48, 48% female, 80% Protestant/Catholic). Study 2 included 412 self-reporting undergraduates ( M _age  = 19, 71% female, 76% Protestant/Catholic).

RESULTS

For Study 1, coping-based motives related to greater depression for young adults with above-average IU and to lower depression for young adults with below-average IU. For Study 2, religiosity related to lower depression and fear of negative evaluation for individuals with above-average IU and to greater fear of positive evaluation for individuals with below-average IU.

CONCLUSION

IU may be an important mechanism between aspects of religion and psychological disorder symptoms.

A psychometric evaluation of hierarchical and oblique versions of five variants of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory

The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi and Calhoun, 1996) is the most commonly used measure of posttraumatic growth. Although the original five factor structure has extensive psychometric support, evidence exists for alternate PTGI models. The current study assessed the validity of oblique and hierarchical factor structures of five PTGI models. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed among a heterogeneous community sample with a diverse trauma history. The oblique models provided a better fit to the data compared with their respective hierarchical models. Three oblique variants provided good fit to the data on two fit indices and all five oblique variants met the recommended criteria for at least one fit index. The 10-item model demonstrated the lowest Expected Cross-Validation Index (ECVI) values and is a brief and useful measure when examining PTGI total scores; however, current results suggest that consideration of the specific subscales may be more meaningful than total scores. Researchers and clinicians interested in subscale scores should consider using the 18- or 21-item variants due to a higher number of items per factor and, therefore, greater factor stability. Future directions in refining and measuring posttraumatic growth are discussed.

Coping with Multiple Sclerosis Scale: Reconsideration of the Factorial Structure

BACKGROUND

The Coping with Multiple Sclerosis Scale (CMSS) was developed to assess coping strategies specific to multiple sclerosis (MS). Despite its wide application in MS research, psychometric support for the CMSS remains limited to the initial factor analytic investigation by Pakenham in 2001.

METHODS

The current investigation assessed the factor structure and construct validity of the CMSS. Participants with MS (N = 453) completed the CMSS, as well as measures of disability related to MS (Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale), quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Scale), and anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale).

RESULTS

The original factor structure reported by Pakenham was a poor fit to the data. An alternate seven-factor structure was identified using exploratory factor analysis. Although there were some similarities with the existing CMSS subscales, differences in factor content and item loadings were found. Relationships between the revised CMSS subscales and additional measures were assessed, and the findings were consistent with previous research.

CONCLUSIONS

Refinement of the CMSS is suggested, especially for subscales related to acceptance and avoidance strategies. Until further research is conducted on the revised CMSS, it is recommended that the original CMSS continue to be administered. Clinicians and researchers should be mindful of lack of support for the acceptance and avoidance subscales and should seek additional scales to assess these areas.

The role of pain intensity and smoking expectancies on smoking urge and behavior following experimental pain induction

INTRODUCTION

Contemporary models of pain and smoking posit a cyclical relationship wherein smoking reduces pain in the short term but, ultimately, serves to exacerbate it in the long term. Such models were influenced by initial experimental findings suggesting situational pain is sufficient to increase smoking-urge and behavior. The initial experimental findings have not yet been replicated and potential mediating smoking motives and anxiety variables have not been explored.

METHODS

The current investigation was designed with the aims of exploring whether (a) electrical heat-pain is sufficient to increase smoking-urge, (b) pain intensity, anxiety sensitivity, and smoking expectancies for pain relief account for variance in post-pain smoking-urge, and (c) individuals are more likely to smoke following a pain experience.

RESULTS

Participants in the heat-pain condition (n=16) reported greater smoking-urge than those in the no-pain control condition (n=16). In the heat-pain condition, approximately 31% of variance in smoking-urge was accounted for by the belief that smoking would help with pain coping or relief. Anxiety sensitivity and pain intensity ratings were not significant predictors of smoking-urge. Significantly more individuals in the heat-pain condition attempted to smoke (100%) after the pain manipulation than those in the no-pain control condition (62.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Acute heat-pain increases smoking-urge and behavior, especially for individuals with expectancies that smoking will help with pain coping. Pain and pain-related smoking expectancies may serve as barriers to smoking cessation for those experiencing pain. Findings provide support for smoking cessation interventions strategies aimed at pain management and challenging smoking expectancies for pain coping/relief.

Trauma-Exposed Community-Dwelling Women and Men Respond Similarly to the DAR-5 Anger Scale: Factor Structure Invariance and Differential Item Functioning

Anger is associated with the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and with poor treatment outcomes. The Dimensions of Anger Reactions Scale-5 (DAR-5) has demonstrated preliminary evidence of unitary factor structure and sound psychometric properties. Gender-based differences in psychometric properties have not been explored. The current study examined gender-based factor structure invariance and differential item functioning of the DAR-5 and gender differences in PTSD symptoms as a function of anger severity using a community sample of adults who had been exposed to trauma. Data were collected from 512 trauma-exposed community-dwelling adults (47.9% women). Confirmatory factor analyses, Mantel-Haenszel χ(2) tests and a comparison of characteristic curves, and 2-way analyses of variance, respectively, were used to assess gender-based factor structure invariance, gender-based response patterns to DAR-5 items, and gender differences in PTSD symptoms as a function of anger. The unitary DAR-5 factor structure did not differ between men and women. Significant gender differences in the response pattern to the DAR-5 items were not present. Trauma-exposed individuals with high anger reported greater overall PTSD symptoms (p < .001), regardless of gender. The DAR-5 can be used to assess anger in trauma-exposed individuals without concern of gender biases influencing factor structure or item functioning. Findings further suggested that the established relationship between anger and PTSD severity did not differ by gender.

Cultural-based biases of the GAD-7

The GAD-7 is a popular measure of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms that has been used across many cultural groups. Existing evidence demonstrates that the prevalence of GAD varies across self-identified ethnic/cultural groups, a phenomenon that some researchers attribute to cross-cultural measurement error rather than to actual differences in rates of GAD. Nonetheless, the effect of culture on factor structure and response patterns to the GAD-7 have not been examined and could result over- or under-estimated GAD-7 scores across different cultural groups. The current investigation assessed the factor structure of the GAD-7 in White/Caucasian, Hispanic, and Black/African American undergraduates and tested for cultural-based biases. A modified one-factor model exhibited good fit across subsamples. Results revealed that Black/African American participants with high GAD symptoms scored lower on the GAD-7 than other participants with similar GAD symptoms. Results highlight the need for culturally sensitive GAD screening tools.

Understanding the relationship between smoking and pain

This review provides an overview of evidence regarding several key mechanisms pertinent to understanding the co-occurrence of smoking dependence and pain, both potentially costly conditions, and highlights treatment implications and future research directions. We describe each of pain and smoking dependence and introduce a revised integrative reciprocal model that explains their co-occurrence. We then provide a selective review of evidence pertinent to direct and indirect pathways between variables postulated in the model. We also provide general recommendations for improving assessment and treatment of smokers with clinically significant pain. We conclude with a targeted agenda for future investigation of the co-occurrence of smoking and pain. Empirical efforts directed at testing postulates of the proposed integrative model may yield a better understanding of the nature of the relationship between these prevalent and costly health conditions as well as evidence-based preventive and treatment strategies for people who experience nicotine dependence and pain-related disability.

What is the role of fear and escape/avoidance in chronic pain? Models, structural analysis and future directions

SUMMARY The fear-avoidance model of chronic pain has stimulated extensive research and the development of a variety of interventions focused on reducing pain-related fear, avoidance behavior and functional disability in individuals with chronic pain. Although there is considerable evidence supporting the model, oversight of potentially important factors and inconsistent findings regarding postulated pathways have led to proposed model revisions. The purpose of this brief narrative review is to provide an overview of the original model, highlight key model revisions and review existing research that directly analyzed the pathways proposed in the original and revised models. The growing body of evidence emerging from analysis of proposed fear-avoidance pathways using structural equation modeling is generally supportive of the original model, as well as various proposed revisions. Additional evaluation using structural equation modeling may lead to a formulation of the fear-avoidance model that balances parsimony with heuristic value. Clinical implications and areas for future research are discussed.