Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

JoNell Strough

Committee Co-Chair

Natalie Shook

Committee Member

Natalie Shook

Committee Member

Cole Vonder Haar

Committee Member

Julie Brefczynski-Lewis

Abstract

Chronic pain is a complex global public health concern associated with a host of negative outcomes, including loss of productivity, decreased quality of life, and greater likelihood of developing a mental health disorder. Initial evidence indicates that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) improve pain symptomatology. However, most MBIs are time and resource intensive, and it is unclear how mindfulness may improve the pain experience. The purpose of the present set of studies was to test the effects of a brief, app-based MBI on pain experience, and to examine whether pain catastrophizing was a statistical mediator of any effect. Two studies were conducted using samples of healthy adults recruited through West Virginia University (N = 118) and adults reporting chronic low back pain (N = 78), respectively. Participants were randomly assigned to either a 10-day app-based MBI or an active control condition. Pain- catastrophizing, fear of pain, pain sensitivity, and pain severity (Study 2 only) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. We hypothesized that participants in the mindfulness condition, but not the active control condition, would demonstrate decreased pain experience post-intervention. Further, we expected that the effect of the app-based MBI on pain experience would be statistically accounted for by decreases in pain catastrophizing. Decreases in pain sensitivity (Study 1), fear of pain (Study 1), and pain severity (Study 2) were observed pre- to post- intervention, regardless of condition. There was no evidence of an effect of condition or statistical mediation by pain catastrophizing. Overall, the present findings suggest that a 10-day app-based MBI is not sufficient to elicit changes in pain experience among individuals with or without chronic pain. It remains unknown whether pain catastrophizing statistically mediates the effect of an MBI on pain experience. Future research may assess the use of longer app-based interventions or the inclusion of face-to-face intervention components in order to improve pain outcomes.

Download

Share

COinS