Acceptance of chronic pain: component analysis and a revised assessment method

TLDR

Acceptance of chronic pain involves reducing avoidance and focusing on valued activities, and recent studies show it improves emotional and physical functioning beyond depression, pain intensity, and coping. The study aimed to refine the CPAQ by examining its factor structure and its relationships to pain‑related distress and disability. The authors used the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire to assess acceptance, examining its factor structure and relationships to other pain‑related measures. Preliminary analyses confirmed the CPAQ’s psychometric properties, and although the overall factor structure was supported, only the activity engagement and pain willingness factors were reliable and valid, leading to a suggested revised version.

Abstract

Acceptance of chronic pain entails that an individual reduce unsuccessful attempts to avoid or control pain and focus instead on participation in valued activities and the pursuit of personally relevant goals. Recent research suggests that pain-related acceptance leads to enhanced emotional and physical functioning in chronic pain patients above and beyond the influence of depression, pain intensity, and coping. In these studies, acceptance was measured using the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ). Preliminary analyses of the CPAQ have supported its psychometric properties. The present study sought to further refine the CPAQ by examining its factor structure and evaluating the relations of these factors to other indices of pain-related distress and disability. Although a previously demonstrated factor structure of the CPAQ was generally supported, only factors assessing (a) the degree to which one engaged in life activities regardless of the pain and (b) willingness to experience pain had adequate reliability and validity and were significantly related to the other measures of patient functioning. A revised version of the CPAQ is suggested.