ArticleFrontiers in psychology2016
Goal Pursuit in Individuals with Chronic Pain: A Personal Project Analysis.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Biopsychosocial Approaches for the Management of Female Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Systematic Review.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Pooled it
- Virtual reality distraction induces hypoalgesia in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2020Trial
- Goal setting in people with low back pain attending an education and exercise program (GLA:D Back) and the impact of demographic factors.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Article
- Study protocol for an adapted personal project analysis to measure vertical inter-goal relations on physical activity and diet.BMC psychology · 2022Article
- Associations between treatment goals, patient characteristics, and outcome measures for patients with musculoskeletal disorders in physiotherapy practice.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Observational
- Using vignettes to assess the contribution of goal adjustment in the adaptation to chronic musculoskeletal pain.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Topical Review: Basic Psychological Needs in Adolescents with Chronic Pain-A Self-Determination Perspective.Pain research & management · 2019Review
- Emotional and Motivational Pain Processing: Current State of Knowledge and Perspectives in Translational Research.Pain research & management · 2018Review
- Optimism, Positive and Negative Affect, and Goal Adjustment Strategies: Their Relationship to Activity Patterns in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.Pain research & management · 2018Article
- Cross-cultural adaptation of the German Pain Solutions Questionnaire: an instrument to measure assimilative and accommodative coping in response to chronic pain.Journal of pain research · 2017Article
- Self-management at the core of back pain care: 10 key points for clinicians.Brazilian journal of physical therapyReview
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesIn individuals with chronic pain (ICPs), controlling pain often is a salient goal, despite the difficulty to achieve it. This situation may bring along frustration and distress. Yet much remains unknown about the content, appraisal, and structure of goals that ICPs pursue. Here, we explore these goals, and specifically focus upon possible differences and interrelations between pain control goals (e.g., "to control my pain") and non-pain goals (e.g., "to go to work"). DESIGN AND
methods"Personal Project Analysis" was used in 73 ICPs (48 females; 25 males; M age = 49.85 years; SD = 9.72) to elicit goals and goal appraisals. Interrelations between pain and non-pain goals, namely interference (i.e., negative influence), facilitation (i.e., positive influence), and necessary condition (i.e., conditional relation between pain control goal and non-pain goals) were measured with three items. Self-report measures of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, problem solving and acceptance were completed.
resultsParticipants reported a variety of goals. Appraisals of pain control goals were less favorable than appraisals of non-pain goals. ICPs with higher acceptance and meaningfulness of life reported more control over pain goals, and more progress in reaching pain control goals. These individuals also reported an overall much more positive appraisal of non-pain goals (i.e., less stress, difficulty, more progress, control). In contrast, high catastrophizing and the need to solve pain were negatively related to goal appraisals. Importantly, ICP's with high perceived meaningfulness of life despite pain experienced less necessity to achieve pain control goals in order to achieve non-pain goals. This was opposite for individuals with high levels of catastrophizing. DISCUSSION: An understanding of why ICPs may become stuck in attempts to control their pain does not only require an understanding of how individuals appraise their pain, but also requires an understanding of how pain and non-pain goals interrelate. In particular, the view that controlling pain is necessary in order to be able to achieve other goals seems detrimental.
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