Abstract
Clinical observations suggest that many patients with chronic pain have difficulty forgiving persons they perceive as having unjustly offended them in some way. By using a sample of 61 patients with chronic low back pain, this study sought to determine the reliability and variability of forgiveness assessments in patients and to examine the relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, and psychological distress. Standardized measures were used to assess patients' current levels of forgiveness, forgiveness self-efficacy, pain, anger, and psychological distress. Results showed that forgiveness-related constructs can be reliably assessed in patients with persistent pain, and that patients vary considerably along dimensions of forgiveness. Furthermore, correlational analyses showed that patients who had higher scores on forgiveness-related variables reported lower levels of pain, anger, and psychological distress. Additional analyses indicated that state anger largely mediated the association between forgiveness and psychological distress, as well as some of the associations between forgiveness and pain. These findings indicate that forgiveness can be reliably assessed in patients with persistent pain, and that a relationship appears to exist between forgiveness and important aspects of living with persistent pain.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 84-91 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Pain |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2005 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Anger
- Chronic low back pain
- Forgiveness
- Pain
- Psychological distress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
- Clinical Neurology
- Neurology
- Nursing(all)
Cite this
Forgiveness and chronic low back pain : A preliminary study examining the relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, and psychological distress. / Carson, James; Keefe, Francis J.; Goli, Veeraindar; Fras, Anne Marie; Lynch, Thomas R.; Thorp, Steven R.; Buechler, Jennifer L.
In: Journal of Pain, Vol. 6, No. 2, 02.2005, p. 84-91.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Forgiveness and chronic low back pain
T2 - A preliminary study examining the relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, and psychological distress
AU - Carson, James
AU - Keefe, Francis J.
AU - Goli, Veeraindar
AU - Fras, Anne Marie
AU - Lynch, Thomas R.
AU - Thorp, Steven R.
AU - Buechler, Jennifer L.
PY - 2005/2
Y1 - 2005/2
N2 - Clinical observations suggest that many patients with chronic pain have difficulty forgiving persons they perceive as having unjustly offended them in some way. By using a sample of 61 patients with chronic low back pain, this study sought to determine the reliability and variability of forgiveness assessments in patients and to examine the relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, and psychological distress. Standardized measures were used to assess patients' current levels of forgiveness, forgiveness self-efficacy, pain, anger, and psychological distress. Results showed that forgiveness-related constructs can be reliably assessed in patients with persistent pain, and that patients vary considerably along dimensions of forgiveness. Furthermore, correlational analyses showed that patients who had higher scores on forgiveness-related variables reported lower levels of pain, anger, and psychological distress. Additional analyses indicated that state anger largely mediated the association between forgiveness and psychological distress, as well as some of the associations between forgiveness and pain. These findings indicate that forgiveness can be reliably assessed in patients with persistent pain, and that a relationship appears to exist between forgiveness and important aspects of living with persistent pain.
AB - Clinical observations suggest that many patients with chronic pain have difficulty forgiving persons they perceive as having unjustly offended them in some way. By using a sample of 61 patients with chronic low back pain, this study sought to determine the reliability and variability of forgiveness assessments in patients and to examine the relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, and psychological distress. Standardized measures were used to assess patients' current levels of forgiveness, forgiveness self-efficacy, pain, anger, and psychological distress. Results showed that forgiveness-related constructs can be reliably assessed in patients with persistent pain, and that patients vary considerably along dimensions of forgiveness. Furthermore, correlational analyses showed that patients who had higher scores on forgiveness-related variables reported lower levels of pain, anger, and psychological distress. Additional analyses indicated that state anger largely mediated the association between forgiveness and psychological distress, as well as some of the associations between forgiveness and pain. These findings indicate that forgiveness can be reliably assessed in patients with persistent pain, and that a relationship appears to exist between forgiveness and important aspects of living with persistent pain.
KW - Anger
KW - Chronic low back pain
KW - Forgiveness
KW - Pain
KW - Psychological distress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=13444251293&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=13444251293&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.10.012
DO - 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.10.012
M3 - Article
VL - 6
SP - 84
EP - 91
JO - Journal of Pain
JF - Journal of Pain
SN - 1526-5900
IS - 2
ER -