The biopsychosocial model of pain dominates the scientific community's understanding of chronic pain. Indeed, the biopsychosocial approach describes pain and disability as a multidimensional, dynamic integration among physiological, psychological, and social factors that reciprocally influence one another. In this article, we review two categories of studies that evaluate the contributions of psychosocial factors to the experience of chronic pain. First, we consider general psychosocial variables including distress, trauma, and interpersonal factors. Additionally, we discuss pain-specific psychosocial variables including catastrophizing, expectations, and pain-related coping. Together, we present a diverse array of psychological, social, and contextual factors and highlight the need to consider their roles in the development, maintenance, and treatment of chronic pain conditions.

The burden of pain is unequal across racial and ethnic groups. In addition to racial and ethnic differences in the experience of pain, there are racial and ethnic disparities in the assessment and treatment of pain. In this article, we provide a nonexhaustive review of the biopsychosocial mechanistic factors contributing to racial and ethnic differences in both the experience and treatment of pain. Using a modified version of the Socioecological Model, we focus on patient-, provider- and system-level factors including coping, perceived bias and discrimination, patient preferences, expectations, patient/provider communication, treatment outcomes and healthcare access. In conclusion, we provide psychosocial factors influencing racial and ethnic differences in pain and highlight future research targets and possible solutions to reduce these disparities.

Changes in central pain processing have been shown in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP). We used quantitative sensory testing (QST) methods to identify differences in pain sensitization between patients with cLBP (N=167) and healthy controls (N=33). Results indicated that, compared to healthy pain-free controls, cLBP patients showed increased sensitivity and greater painful aftersensations for mechanical pressure and pin prick stimuli and lower tactile spatial acuity in the two-point discrimination task (ps<.05). Then, we examined the role of pain catastrophizing as a mediator of the group differences in pain sensitization. We found that catastrophizing partially accounted for group differences in pressure required to produce moderate pain. Finally, we examined the relationship between pain sensitization, catastrophizing, and clinical pain among patients with cLBP. We found that catastrophizing and deep-tissue pressure pain were associated with greater pain intensity in the past month, week, and at the visit as well aslow back pain bothersomeness. Further, deep-tissue pressure pain mediated the associations between catastrophizing and both pain in the past month and low back pain severity. Taken together, these results indicate that not only do patients with cLBP demonstrate increased pain sensitization and decreased sensitivity to innocuous stimuli, but these changes are also linked with increased catastrophizing. Furthermore, both catastrophizing and sensitization are associated with increased clinical pain among cLBP patients.

Compared to White individuals, Black individuals experience greater pain across clinical and experimental modalities. These race differences may be due to differences in pain-related coping. Several studies examined the relationship between race and pain coping; however, no meta-analytic review has summarized this relationship or attempted to account for differences across studies. The goal of this meta-analytic review was to quantify race differences in the overall use of pain coping strategies as well as specific coping strategies. Relevant studies were identified using electronic databases, an ancestry search, and by contacting authors for unpublished data. Of 150 studies identified, 19 met inclusion criteria, resulting in 6489 participants and 123 effect sizes. All of the included studies were conducted in the United States. Mean effect sizes were calculated using a random effects model. Compared to White individuals, Black individuals used pain coping strategies more frequently overall (d=0.25, p<0.01), with the largest differences observed for praying (d=0.70) and catastrophizing (d=0.40). White individuals engaged in task persistence more than Black individuals (d=−0.28). These results suggest that Black individuals use coping strategies more frequently, specifically strategies associated with poorer pain outcomes. Future research should examine the extent to which the use of these strategies mediates race differences in the pain experience. Perspective Results of this meta-analysis examining race differences in pain related coping indicate that, compared to White individuals, Black individuals use coping strategies more frequently, specifically those involving praying and catastrophizing. These differences in coping may help to explain race differences in the pain experience.

Pediatric chronic pain is associated with numerous negative outcomes including increased physical disability, increased rates of depression and anxiety, and decreased quality of life (QOL). Pain catastrophizing-broadly conceptualized as including rumination, magnification, and helplessness cognitions surrounding one's pain-has been linked with poor functional outcomes in children with chronic pain. Pain catastrophizing in pediatric chronic pain is often considered a key factor on which to focus treatment efforts. However, absent a systematic review that integrates the relevant literature, this call for routine assessment and targeted treatment may be premature. This study aimed to: (1) meta-analytically quantify the relationship between catastrophizing and pain and functional/psychosocial outcomes (functional disability/physical functioning, anxiety, depression, and QOL) in children with chronic pain, and (2) examine potential moderators of these relationships. Using a random-effects model, a total of 111 effect sizes from 38 studies were analyzed. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large, with anxiety, depression, and QOL demonstrating a strong association with catastrophizing. Pain intensity and physical disability had a moderate association with catastrophizing. These relationships were robust, minimizing potential publication bias. None of the examined moderators were significant. The strong relationships found between catastrophizing and anxiety, depression, and QOL suggest that successfully intervening on catastrophizing could have far reaching implications in improving pain outcomes in pediatric chronic pain.

Growing evidence suggests that chronic low back pain (CLBP) is associated with pain sensitization, and that there are sex and race disparities in CLBP. Given the sex and race differences in pain sensitization, this has been hypothesized as a mechanism contributing to the sex and race disparities in CLBP. This study examined sex and race differences in pain sensitization among patients with CLBP, as well as the role of catastrophizing as a potential mediator of those differences. The study found that compared with men, women required less pressure to produce deep muscle pain and rated mechanical punctate pain as more painful. Compared with non-Hispanic white patients, black patients demonstrated greater pain sensitivity for measures of deep muscle hyperalgesia and mechanical punctate pain. Furthermore, catastrophizing partially mediated the race differences in deep muscle pain such that black participants endorsed greater pain catastrophizing, which partially accounted for their increased sensitivity to, and temporal summation of, deep muscle pain. Taken together, these results support the need to further examine the role of catastrophizing and pain sensitization in the context of sex and race disparities in the experience of CLBP. PERSPECTIVE: This study identifies sex and race differences in pain sensitization among patients with CLBP. Further, it recognizes the role of catastrophizing as a contributor to such race differences. More research is needed to further dissect these complex relationships.

Compared to White individuals and men, Black individuals and women demonstrate a lower tolerance for experimental pain stimuli. Previous studies suggest that pain catastrophizing is important in this context, but little is known about which components of catastrophizing contribute to these race and sex differences. The purpose of the current study was to examine the individual components of catastrophizing (rumination, magnification, and helplessness) as candidate mediators of race and sex differences in experimental pain tolerance. Healthy undergraduates (N=172, 74% female, 43.2% Black) participated in a cold pressor task and completed a situation-specific version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Black and female participants demonstrated a lower pain tolerance than White (p<0.01; d=0.70) and male (p<0.01; d=0.55) participants, respectively. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that these race and sex differences were mediated by the rumination component of catastrophizing Perspective: This study suggests that differences in pain-related rumination, but not magnification or helplessness, are important contributors to race and sex differences in the pain experience. Interventions that target this maladaptive cognitive style may help reduce disparities in pain.

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