ArticleThe journal of pain2021
The Psychological Functioning in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Association With Psychological Flexibility and Broader Functioning in People With Chronic Pain.
Article in The journal of pain, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations Between Six Core Processes of Psychological Flexibility and Functioning for Chronic Pain Patients: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- The Context of COVID-19 at 18 Months in Relation to Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia: The Emerging Role of Post COVID-19 Symptoms.Clinical psychology in Europe · 2025Article
- The Association Between COVID-19-Related Persistent Symptoms, Psychological Flexibility, and General Mental Health Among People With and Without Persistent Pain in the UK.Clinics and practice · 2025Article
- Introversion, Extraversion, and Worsening of Chronic Pain Impact during Social Isolation: A Mediation Analysis.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2023Article
- Has the COVID 19 Pandemic Impacted the Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain?Current rheumatology reports · 2023Review
- A Qualitative Study of the Latter Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients Living With Chronic Pain.Journal of patient experience · 2023Article
- Chronic pain and problematic substance use for veterans during COVID-19: the moderating role of psychological flexibility.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Health, well-being, and persisting symptoms in the pandemic: What is the role of psychological flexibility?Journal of contextual behavioral science · 2022Article
- Review
- Trajectories and Individual Differences in Pain, Emotional Distress, and Prescription Opioid Misuse During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.The journal of pain · 2022Article
- The trajectories of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic and the protective role of psychological flexibility: A four-wave longitudinal study.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Article
- Fear of COVID-19 and its association with mental health-related factors: systematic review and meta-analysis.BJPsych open · 2022Review
- The Influence of Self-Esteem and Psychological Flexibility on Medical College Students' Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Self-Reported Substance Use, Well-Being, and Functioning Among United States Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Pain Interference, Resilience, and Perceived Well-Being During COVID-19: Differences Between Women With and Without Trauma Exposure Prior to the Pandemic.International journal of public health · 2022Article
- The Role of Pain Catastrophizing and Pain Acceptance in Performance-Based and Self-Reported Physical Functioning in Individuals with Fibromyalgia and Obesity.Journal of personalized medicine · 2021Article
- Stress and Pain Before, During and After the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsPeople with chronic pain may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic COVID-19, and psychological flexibility may protect them. This study investigates psychological functioning in the context of COVID-19, including fear and avoidance in the context of COVID-19, specifically its association with daily functioning, and the role of psychological flexibility, among people with chronic pain.
methodsResponses from 555 adults with chronic pain were collected through a cross-sectional online survey and analyzed.
resultsEight out of 10 participants reported significant depression and nearly 9 out of 10 reported significant functional impairment. COVID-19-related fear and avoidance significantly correlated with pain, pain-related disability, depression, and work and social adjustment (r = 18-.32), as well as psychological flexibility processes, including pain acceptance, self-as-context, and committed action, |r|=.13-.30. COVID-19-related fear and avoidance and COVID-19-related interference were significant predictors of some measures of daily functioning beyond demographics and pain, β = .09-.14. However, these associations weakened when psychological flexibility processes were factored into the models, with fear of COVID-19 no longer being a significant predictor of pain-related disability or depression, and COVID-19 avoidance no longer a significant predictor of depression.
conclusionsThe psychological functioning in the context of COVID-19 appears to be negatively associated with daily functioning in people with chronic pain, and is statistically significant in this regard. Psychological flexibility may have a role in these associations for people with chronic pain in the pandemic. PERSPECTIVE: This article demonstrates the psychological implication of COVID-19 and its association with broader emotional and daily functioning in people with chronic pain. It also demonstrates that Psychological flexibility may have a role in these associations for people with chronic pain in the pandemic.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.