Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada.
Pain. 2017 Oct;158(10):1960-1970. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000995.
This is an experimental study of pain communication in couples. Despite evidence that chronic pain in one partner impacts both members of the dyad, dyadic influences on pain communication have not been sufficiently examined and are typically studied based on retrospective reports. Our goal was to directly study contextual influences (ie, presence of chronic pain, gender, relationship quality, and pain catastrophizing) on self-reported and nonverbal (ie, facial expressions) pain responses. Couples with (n = 66) and without (n = 65) an individual with chronic pain (ICP) completed relationship and pain catastrophizing questionnaires. Subsequently, one partner underwent a pain task (pain target, PT), while the other partner observed (pain observer, PO). In couples with an ICP, the ICP was assigned to be the PT. Pain intensity and PO perceived pain intensity ratings were recorded at multiple intervals. Facial expressions were video recorded throughout the pain task. Pain-related facial expression was quantified using the Facial Action Coding System. The most consistent predictor of either partner's pain-related facial expression was the pain-related facial expression of the other partner. Pain targets provided higher pain ratings than POs and female PTs reported and showed more pain, regardless of chronic pain status. Gender and the interaction between gender and relationship satisfaction were predictors of pain-related facial expression among PTs, but not POs. None of the examined variables predicted self-reported pain. Results suggest that contextual variables influence pain communication in couples, with distinct influences for PTs and POs. Moreover, self-report and nonverbal responses are not displayed in a parallel manner.
这是一项关于夫妻疼痛沟通的实验研究。尽管有证据表明一方的慢性疼痛会影响到伴侣双方，但对夫妻间疼痛沟通的影响还没有得到充分的研究，通常是基于回顾性报告进行研究。我们的目标是直接研究情境因素（即慢性疼痛的存在、性别、关系质量和疼痛灾难化）对自我报告和非言语（即面部表情）疼痛反应的影响。有（n=66）和没有（n=65）慢性疼痛个体的夫妻完成了关系和疼痛灾难化问卷。随后，其中一位伴侣接受了疼痛任务（疼痛目标，PT），而另一位伴侣观察（疼痛观察者，PO）。在有慢性疼痛个体的夫妻中，慢性疼痛个体被分配为 PT。在多个时间间隔记录疼痛强度和 PO 感知的疼痛强度评分。在整个疼痛任务中，面部表情被视频记录下来。使用面部动作编码系统对面部疼痛表情进行量化。无论是哪一位伴侣的疼痛相关面部表情，最一致的预测因素都是另一位伴侣的疼痛相关面部表情。疼痛目标提供的疼痛评分高于 PO，且无论慢性疼痛状况如何，女性 PT 报告的疼痛评分更高，表现出的疼痛更多。性别和性别与关系满意度之间的相互作用是 PT 而不是 PO 疼痛相关面部表情的预测因素。被检查的变量都没有预测自我报告的疼痛。结果表明，情境变量会影响夫妻间的疼痛沟通，对 PT 和 PO 有不同的影响。此外，自我报告和非言语反应不是以平行的方式表现出来的。
