STRUCTURAL MODEL OF CHRONIC PAIN BASED ON MINDFULNESS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND LIFE EVENTS WITH THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

Chronic pain can provide emotional and psychological incompatibility in the affected person, thus threatening mental health. The current research aimed to develop the structural model of chronic pain based on mindfulness, social support, and life events with the mediating role of psychological distress.

This descriptive research used the structural equation modeling method. The population included all women and men suffering from chronic pain in Tehran city who had been referred to medical clinics in 1401 with complaints of musculoskeletal pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Four hundred and ninety-six patients were selected using the convenience sampling method. Then, they completed the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ), and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.25 and AMOS softwares.

The results showed a good fit of the model with experimental data. The effect of the coefficient of direct standard paths of mindfulness and the amount and number of stressors on the experience of chronic pain was significant, whereas the direct coefficient for social support and the number of stressors was insignificant (p<0.05). Also, the indirect path of mindfulness, social support, amount, and number of stressors on the experience of chronic pain through the mediating role of psychological distress was significant (p<0.05).

Mindfulness, social support as well as life events play important role in explaining chronic pain by mediating psychological distress. Thus, mental health professionals can use these factors to improve the mental health of the people with chronic pain.