More Insight on the Role of Personality Traits and Sensitivity to Experimental Pain

Abstract

Purpose The present study aimed to assess the influence of personality traits on the variability of sensitivity to pain in two distinct groups of healthy subjects with low versus high sensitivity to pain (LSP vs HSP, respectively). Methods Healthy subjects (n=156) were allocated to two groups according to their tolerability to cold stimulation (cold pressor test, CPT, 1°C). Group LSP (n=76) reached the cut-off time of 180±0 sec, and a size matched group of HSP (n=80) tolerated the CPT for an average of 10.5±3.4 sec only. Subjects from both groups completed the self-reported pain sensitivity questionnaire (PSQ), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness - Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Results In comparison to the LSP group, HSP individuals had higher scores of PSQ ( p <0.001), catastrophizing ( p =0.001), and extraversion ( p =0.01). By adjusting for age and gender, mediation analyses revealed that catastrophizing mediated the relationship between neuroticism and pain sensitivity, both in the allocation of subjects to a certain group of sensitivity to pain (LSP or HSP, B=0.02 95% CI: 0.006–0.040) and in the PSQ score (B=0.01 95% CI: 0.001–0.023). Conclusion These results, which were demonstrated by two different prisms (CPT and PSQ), point to the potential of the five-factor inventory and pain catastrophizing scale as tools for identifying specific personality traits associated with a high sensitivity to pain.

The Effect of Electrical Stimulation–Induced Pain on Time Perception and Relationships to Pain-Related Emotional and Cognitive Factors: A Temporal Bisection Task and Questionnaire–Based Study

“…In addition, we found that PCS and CHPASS scores correlated negatively with the current intensity, suggesting that higher levels of pain-related emotions and cognition render subjects more sensitive to pain, reducing the current intensity required to achieve the same pain score. The effects of pain-related catastrophic thinking and anxiety on pain sensitivity have been demonstrated in many studies (Failla et al, 2020;Grouper et al, 2021;Kim et al, 2021). Taken together, the significant correlations observed in this study between the current intensity and the PSE and PCS and CHPASS scores suggest that the impacts of pain-related cognitive, emotional, and sensory factors on time perception may be direct and/or indirect.…”

Evaluation of the Analgesic Efficacy of Undiluted Intraperitoneal and Incisional Ropivacaine for Postoperative Analgesia in Dogs after Major Abdominal Surgery

“…To date, no evidence could be found for a dog's temperament to influence its pain behaviour [38]. This is in contrast to findings in humans, in which personality traits like catastrophizing, extraversion and neuroticism have been associated with an increased sensitivity to pain [39]. One explanation might be the different scoring methods between self-reporting in people and observer-reporting in animals.…”

Cross‐cultural translation and adaptation of the Danish version of the brief version of the 10‐item Big Five Inventory

“…There is a growing interest into investigating whether ongoing, painful clinical conditions can be attributed to the personality of the sufferer (Bar‐Shalita & Cermak, 2019; Clark et al., 2017; Grouper et al., 2021). Therefore, a third panel, consisting of nine patients suffering from recurring or ongoing painful conditions and undergoing treatment at an out‐patient clinic, was recruited to independently review and fill out the questionnaire.…”