Journal of Pain Research (Sep 2017)
Uncovering the influence of social skills and psychosociological factors on pain sensitivity using structural equation modeling
Abstract
Yoichi Tanaka,1,2 Yuki Nishi,1 Yuki Nishi,1 Michihiro Osumi,3 Shu Morioka1,3 1Department of Neurorehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kio University, 2Department of Rehabilitation, Nara Prefecture General Rehabilitation Center, 3Department of Neurorehabilitation Research Center, Kio University, Nara, Japan Abstract: Pain is a subjective emotional experience that is influenced by psychosociological factors such as social skills, which are defined as problem-solving abilities in social interactions. This study aimed to reveal the relationships among pain, social skills, and other psychosociological factors by using structural equation modeling. A total of 101 healthy volunteers (41 men and 60 women; mean age: 36.6±12.7 years) participated in this study. To evoke participants’ sense of inner pain, we showed them images of painful scenes on a PC screen and asked them to evaluate the pain intensity by using the visual analog scale (VAS). We examined the correlation between social skills and VAS, constructed a hypothetical model based on results from previous studies and the current correlational analysis results, and verified the model’s fit using structural equation modeling. We found significant positive correlations between VAS and total social skills values, as well as between VAS and the “start of relationships” subscales. Structural equation modeling revealed that the values for “start of relationships” had a direct effect on VAS values (path coefficient =0.32, p<0.01). In addition, the “start of relationships” had both a direct and an indirect effect on psychological factors via social support. The results indicated that extroverted people are more sensitive to inner pain and tend to get more social support and maintain a better psychological condition. Keywords: social skills, psychosociological factors, pain sensitivity
