Designing and Testing the Prediction Model of Adaptation to Pain Based on Attachment Style and Ego Strength with the Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Tehran in 2021: A Descriptive Study

 Although pain is necessary for the continuation of life, this phenomenon often loses its warning and adaptive role and causes various problems. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to design and test the prediction model of adaptation to pain based on attachment styles and ego strength with the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Tehran in 2021.

 In this descriptive study conducted by correlational method, the statistical population included all patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Tehran in 2021. 300 patients were selected from the pain clinic of Imam Hossein Hospital by convenience sampling method and answered the questionnaires of Attachment Styles, Ego Strength, Cognitive Emotion Regulation, and Multidimensional Pain Inventory. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

 The results of structural equation modeling showed that the coefficients of the direct path of attachment styles (β=0.61, p<0.001) and ego strength (β=0.89, p<0.001) to the adaptation to pain were significant. In addition, attachment styles and ego strength had an indirect effect on the adaptation to pain with the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation. 

 The results of this study reveal that attachment styles, ego strength, and cognitive emotion regulation can directly and indirectly affect the perception of chronic pain and ultimately the performance of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and on the other hand, play a dynamic role in adapting to chronic pain. These results can be used in designing preventive and interventional programs of chronic pain.
Key words: Adaptation to pain, Attachment styles, Ego strength, Cognitive emotion regulation, Chronic pain, Rheumatoid arthritis
Funding: This study did not have any funds.