The Effect of Pain Coping Strategies on Perceived Social Support and Acceptance of Pain in Elderly Individuals With Chronic Pain.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Chronic pain represents not only an unpleasant physical condition but also numerous psychological and social consequences for older adults, potentially diminishing their quality of life. Gaining insight into the connection of pain coping mechanisms with pain acceptance and perceived social support can facilitate the development of effective approaches for the treatment and management of pain in older adults. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of pain coping strategies on perceived social support and pain acceptance in older adults with chronic pain. Methods: The current research was a descriptive, analytical, and correlational study. Participants were selected by a simple random method and comprised 363 older adults with chronic pain referred to the specialized clinics of selected medical centers in the west of Mazandaran province. Tools used to collect data included the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the chronic pain acceptance instrument in older adults (ECPAI), the pain coping strategies questionnaire (PCSQ), and the VanKroff Graded Chronic Pain Scale (VGCPS). Results: The average age of the participants was 68.18 ± 6.36 years. Based on the results of the Pearson correlation test, a positive and significant relationship was found between pain coping strategies (except catastrophizing) and perceived social support (p < 0.001). The highest correlation with perceived social support was observed in components of faith and praying, hoping, and ignoring the pain, with a coefficient of 0.35. Moreover, there was a positive and significant relationship between acceptance of pain and reinterpreting pain, return attention, talking to oneself, ignoring the pain, distractor behaviors, praying, and hoping (p < 0.001). Praying and hoping components exhibited the strongest correlation with pain acceptance, with a coefficient of 0.32. Conclusion: The results showed that coping strategies influence pain acceptance and perceived social support among older adults with chronic pain. Therefore, it is suggested that health service providers, especially nurses, implement appropriate educational, care, support, and psychological solutions in order to empower older adults to recognize and apply effective and efficient coping strategies.