Seventeenth Annual
C of I   S T U D E N T   R E S E A R C H
C O N F E R E N C E
Saturday April 30, 2022
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Surveying Subacute Pain and the Correlation of Coping Mechanisms, Pain-Related Anxiety, and Fear-Avoidance

AUTHOR: Laura Staropoli
FACULTY: Cara Laney
DEPARTMENT: Psychology

ABSTRACT

For many years, researchers and health providers have worked to establish interventions to treat pain experiences in patients. Subacute pain, pain that has reoccurred longer than expected, has been clinically shown to have a large effect on a person's physical and mental health. Coping skills are key to patient recovery as they present a physical and mental outlet for pain experiences. Subacute pain can provoke an emotional response and mental distress that negatively affects recovery and coping skills. Fear-avoidance (the avoidance of certain behaviors to prevent pain), and pain-related anxiety, have been shown to individually influence coping skills in the presence of subacute pain. In this research, 38 participants with subacute pain completed a series of surveys that explored the relationships between fear-avoidance, pain-related anxiety, and coping skills. Findings suggested significant positive relationships between these variables. Clinical interventions, like counseling and other mental health resources, can help patients establish beneficial coping skills that will aid in their rehabilitation. Establishing these practices will not only help subacute pain patients but will also change the stigma surrounding pain within the medical field.

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