Effects of pain intensity on goal schemas and goal pursuit: A daily diary study.

Abstract

Objective Although the adverse effects of chronic pain on work productivity and daily life pursuits are clear, the within-person dynamics of pain, goal cognition, and engagement in work-related and lifestyle goals remain uncharted. This study investigated the impact of pain intensity (assessed on three occasions each day) and goal-related schematic thinking (ratings of importance, planning, and goal pursuit opportunities, assessed only in the morning) on afternoon and evening work and lifestyle goal pursuit. Methods A community sample of working adults with chronic pain (N =131) were screened and interviewed about their work and lifestyle goals and completed a 21-day telephonic diary. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to estimate within-person and between-person effects. Results At the within-person level, morning pain intensity was inversely related to schematic cognition concerning work and lifestyle goals, whereas, at the between-person level, morning pain intensity varied positively with schematic thinking about work goals as well with afternoon life-style goal pursuit. At both the between- and within- analytic levels, morning goal schemas were positively associated with the pursuit of each type of goal in the afternoon and again in the evening. Moreover, positive carry-over effects of morning goal schemas on next day afternoon goal pursuit were observed. Conclusions Whereas morning pain intensity exhibited inconsistent effects across analytic levels, morning goal-related schematic thinking consistently predicted goal pursuit across analytic levels, type of goal, and time of day. These findings have implications for treatment and prevention of pain’s potentially deleterious effects on workplace and lifestyle goals.

Affect, work-goal schemas, and work-goal striving among adults with chronic pain: a multilevel structural equation analysis

“…It is also important to note the differences between the present study and the one published by Karoly et al (2014). First, whereas the previous study focused on whether individuals pursued goals, the present study further investigated how individuals worked on attaining their goals using more refined daily diary measures that incorporate various strategies of goal pursuit.…”

“…Participant status was not significantly (p [ .05) related to age, gender, race, ethnicity, zip code, or pain severity. More information about the final sample is available in Karoly et al (2014).…”

“…Although the primary aim of the present study was to test the aforementioned hypotheses pertaining to processes occurring at the within-person level, the between-person level was also explored in view of several previous daily diary studies that have reported so-called ''contextual effects'', i.e., differences in the direction or pattern of within-and between-person associations (Karoly et al, 2014;Tennen et al, 2003).…”

“…Goal schemas, as conceptualized within a control systems framework, encompass specific predictive appraisals that function as organizing and attention-directing (feed-forward) signals (Ford, 1987;Karoly, 1999Karoly, , 2010. Karoly et al (2014) previously operationalized the goal schema construct as a form of future event scripting consisting of three components: goal planning, goal importance, and the perception of situational opportunities for goal pursuit. The experience of more-than-usual morning pain significantly attenuated morning goal schemas which, in turn, predicted a significant decline in whether work-and life-style goals were pursued later in the afternoon and evening which carried over to the following day.…”

Pain-Contingent Interruption and Resumption of Work Goals: A Within-Day Diary Analysis

“…On the other hand, pain intensity ratings averaged over 21 days have been shown to be positively related to work goal schemas which, in turn, tend to promote work goal pursuit. 20 Therefore, we predicted that chronic pain severity would be positively related to evening work goal resumption.…”