Psychosocial Risk and Resilience Factors Associated with Pain in Young Adults

Chronic pain is a prevalent problem in young adults (ages 18-25) and has a broad impact on daily functioning. Although there is understanding of psychosocial factors that correlate with pain risk or resilience in childhood or later adulthood, there are limited data in young adulthood. The purpose of this study was to identify psychosocial risk and resilience factors associated with pain and disability in young adults with pediatric-onset chronic pain. We used baseline data from an ongoing longitudinal study of 115 young adults (83.5% female, mean age 20.2 years) with childhood-onset chronic primary pain. Participants completed information on demographics, pain intensity, pain-related disability, and several measures of risk (i.e., anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, pain catastrophizing) and resilience (i.e., pain self-efficacy, social support, positive affect, optimism, chronic pain acceptance). Multivariate regression models examined demographics (Step 1), risk factors (Step 2), and resilience factors (Step 3) associated with pain intensity and disability. We found greater sleep disturbance was associated with higher pain intensity, while higher pain self-efficacy was related to lower pain intensity. Moreover, more severe depressive symptoms were associated with greater pain-related disability, while higher pain self-efficacy predicted lower disability. Results suggest that targeting not only risk factors (depression, sleep) but also self-efficacy could be an important focus of interventions for young adults. By following this cohort over the next 2 years, we hope to better understand how changes in risk and resilience factors impact the trajectories of pain and disability. Funded by National Institutes of Health (F32 HD097807).