Structural Model of Pain Acceptance Based on Mindfulness and the Difficulty of Emotional Regulation with the Mediating Role of Resilience in Cancer Patients

Cancer patients experience severe pain for which adaptation is excruciating. The aim of this study was to design a structural model of pain acceptance based on mindfulness and difficulty of emotional regulation with a mediating role of resilience in cancer patients.

This study was based on structural equations and descriptive-correlational research. The statistical population consisted of all people with cancer referring to health centers and clinics in Sanandaj in 2019. Based on Hair's rule for sampling in structural equations, 200 patients were selected by available methods. Data collection tools included the Pain Resilience Questionnaire, Emotional Regulation Difficulty Scale, Five-Dimensional Mindfulness Questionnaire, and Chronic Pain Adaptation Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Amos - SEM.

The findings of this study indicated that the variables of difficulty in emotional regulation and mindfulness in interaction with the mediating role of resilience were effective in explaining the acceptance of pain in cancer patients. The direct effects of emotional regulation difficulty (-0.57), mindfulness (0.78) and resilience (0.22) on estimating pain acceptance of cancer patients were significant (P <0.05). The indirect effects of emotional regulation difficulty and mindfulness on pain acceptance through resilience were significant (P<0.05). The total direct and indirect effects of the difficulty of emotional regulation and mindfulness on pain acceptance were (β = 0.747 and β = 0.870), respectively, which indicated the significance of the total effect of these two pathways.

Enhancing resilience and mindfulness and reducing the difficulty of emotional regulation can lead to better acceptance of chronic pain in cancer patients.