A Comparison of Conventional Pain Coping Skills Training and Pain Coping Skills Training With a Maintenance Training Component: A Daily Diary Analysis of Short- and Long-Term Treatment Effects

James W. Carson, Francis J. Keefe, Glenn Affleck, Meredith E. Rumble, David S. Caldwell, Pat M. Beaupre, Susmita Kashikar-Zuck, Marlene Sandstrom, James N. Weisberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pain coping skills training (PCST) has been shown to produce immediate improvements in pain and disability in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, some patients have difficulty maintaining these gains. This study compared a conventional PCST protocol with a PCST protocol that included maintenance training (PCST/MT). Patients with RA (n = 167) were randomly assigned to either conventional PCST, PCST/MT, arthritis education control, or standard care control. Daily data were collected on joint pain, coping, coping efficacy, and mood. Multilevel analyses showed that at posttreatment, conventional PCST was superior to all other conditions in joint pain, coping efficacy, and negative mood, whereas PCST/MT was superior to all other conditions in emotion-focused coping and positive mood. At 18 months follow-up, both PCST conditions were superior to standard care in joint pain and coping efficacy. Interpretation of follow-up outcomes was limited by higher dropout rates in the 2 PCST groups. For RA, a maintenance training component does not appear to produce significant improvements over conventional PCST. Perspective: This article reports a trial evaluating a conventional pain coping skills training protocol and a similar protocol that included a maintenance training component. Overall, results indicate similar results for both the conventional and the modified protocols.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)615-625
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Pain
Volume7
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Pain
  • arthritis
  • coping efficacy
  • coping skills training
  • mood

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Comparison of Conventional Pain Coping Skills Training and Pain Coping Skills Training With a Maintenance Training Component: A Daily Diary Analysis of Short- and Long-Term Treatment Effects'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this