Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41749404›Full record

ArticleJournal of physiological anthropology2026

Social skills moderate pain sensitivity during acute psychosocial stress: an experimental study using the Trier Social Stress Test.

Yoichi Tanaka, Nao Uchima, Wakana Ebisu, Yumiko Kawanishi, Riho Yamanaka, Ichika Wakatsuki, Kenta Hashimoto, Yuya Sakaguchi, Tsunehiro Otsuka, Ken Okutani and 1 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of physiological anthropology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yoichi TanakaDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan. yi-tanaka@hyo-med.ac.jp.
Nao UchimaDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Wakana EbisuDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Yumiko KawanishiDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Riho YamanakaDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Ichika WakatsukiDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Kenta HashimotoDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Yuya SakaguchiDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Tsunehiro OtsukaDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Ken OkutaniDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.
Daisuke ShimizuDepartment of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, 1-3-6 Minatojima, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study examines whether acute psychosocial stress induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) alters pressure pain threshold (PPT) in healthy university students. Furthermore, we investigated how overall social skills and its subscales relate to stress-induced changes in PPT and whether trait anxiety moderates these relationships.

methodsA total of 34 healthy university students (14 males, 20 females; mean age = 21.2 ± 1.0 years) participated in the study. TSST was used to induce acute psychosocial stress. PPT, subjective stress, and autonomic activity (pulse wave amplitude and length) were assessed at three time points: pre, post, and 10-min recovery. Social skills were measured using the Adult Social Skills Scale, and trait anxiety was assessed using the STAI. Linear mixed-effects and regression models were applied to examine time effects and anxiety's moderating role.

resultsSubjective stress increased significantly immediately after TSST and returned to near baseline at the 10-min recovery. No significant changes were observed in pulse wave amplitude or length. A linear mixed-effects model revealed no significant main effect of time (F(2, 64) = 0.01, p = .99) or interaction between time and total social skills (F(2, 64) = 0.03, p = .97). A trend-level main effect of total social skills was observed (F(1, 31) = 3.28, p = .08), indicating that higher social skills were associated with greater PPT overall. Regression analyses of subscales revealed that only encoding skill exhibited a trend-level association with pre-to-post PPT change. A subsequent interaction model established a significant moderation by trait anxiety: the protective association of encoding skill with increased PPT was significant among low to average anxiety participants but not among high-anxiety participants.

conclusionsIndividuals with higher social skills, particularly those with effective encoding abilities and lower trait anxiety, exhibited greater pain tolerance under stress, although acute social stress did not produce an overall change in PPT. These findings suggest that social communication competence may serve as a resilience factor in stress-related pain modulation, although elevated anxiety levels may attenuate such benefits.

Indexed as

Pain ThresholdSocial SkillsStress, PsychologicalAdultAnxietyFemaleHumansMaleSubjective StressYoung AdultAcute psychosocial stressPressure pain thresholdSocial skillsTrait anxietyTrier Social Stress Test

Identifiers

PMID41749404
PMCPMC13049802

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Registered trials

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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.