Fabrice Jollant1, Géraldine Voegeli2, Nolan C Kordsmeier3, Jessica M Carbajal4, Stéphane Richard-Devantoy5, Gustavo Turecki5, Ricardo Cáceda4. 1. Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; CH Sainte-Anne, Clinique des Maladies Mentales et de l'Encéphale (CMME), Paris, France,; McGill University, Department of Psychiatry & Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: fabrice.jollant@parisdescartes.fr. 2. Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; CH Sainte-Anne, Clinique des Maladies Mentales et de l'Encéphale (CMME), Paris, France. 3. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA. 5. McGill University, Department of Psychiatry & Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Psychological pain lies at the heart of human experience. However, it may also be abnormally intense and/or prolonged in pathological states, with negative outcomes. A simple and reliable measure of psychological pain for clinical use would be useful. In this study, we present a preliminary validation of a simple visual analog scale jointly measuring psychological and physical pain. METHODS: Two samples of adult (non elderly) depressed patients and healthy controls were independently recruited in two locations in Canada and the USA (N = 46/48 and 200/20, respectively). Six dimensions were successively scored on a paper visual analog scale measuring current, mean and worst pain over the last 15 days, for physical then psychological pain. RESULTS: All physical and psychological pain dimensions discriminated depressed from non-depressed subjects. Among depressed patients, psychological pain scores were higher than physical pain scores for a given period of assessment. Moreover, correlations between dimensions from the same pain category (physical or psychological) were higher than between different pain categories. Psychological pain was mainly correlated with depression and hopelessness scales while physical pain was mainly correlated with anxiety scales. Secondary analyses showed that psychological (and some physical) pain measures were correlated with suicidal ideas in one location, but no difference in pain scores was found between patients with vs. without a history of suicidal acts in both samples. Childhood trauma positively correlated with several pain dimensions. CONCLUSION: The PPP-VAS appears to be a valid tool in terms of discriminative capacities and convergent-divergent validities. Validation in different samples, including adolescents and elderly, and in various psychiatric and medical conditions will have to be conducted, in addition to the assessment of concurrent and predictive validities, and the confirmation of sensitivity to change. The role of psychological pain in the suicidal process needs to be further elucidated.
OBJECTIVE:Psychological pain lies at the heart of human experience. However, it may also be abnormally intense and/or prolonged in pathological states, with negative outcomes. A simple and reliable measure of psychological pain for clinical use would be useful. In this study, we present a preliminary validation of a simple visual analog scale jointly measuring psychological and physical pain. METHODS: Two samples of adult (non elderly) depressedpatients and healthy controls were independently recruited in two locations in Canada and the USA (N = 46/48 and 200/20, respectively). Six dimensions were successively scored on a paper visual analog scale measuring current, mean and worst pain over the last 15 days, for physical then psychological pain. RESULTS: All physical and psychological pain dimensions discriminated depressed from non-depressed subjects. Among depressedpatients, psychological pain scores were higher than physical pain scores for a given period of assessment. Moreover, correlations between dimensions from the same pain category (physical or psychological) were higher than between different pain categories. Psychological pain was mainly correlated with depression and hopelessness scales while physical pain was mainly correlated with anxiety scales. Secondary analyses showed that psychological (and some physical) pain measures were correlated with suicidal ideas in one location, but no difference in pain scores was found between patients with vs. without a history of suicidal acts in both samples. Childhood trauma positively correlated with several pain dimensions. CONCLUSION: The PPP-VAS appears to be a valid tool in terms of discriminative capacities and convergent-divergent validities. Validation in different samples, including adolescents and elderly, and in various psychiatric and medical conditions will have to be conducted, in addition to the assessment of concurrent and predictive validities, and the confirmation of sensitivity to change. The role of psychological pain in the suicidal process needs to be further elucidated.
Authors: David P Bernstein; Judith A Stein; Michael D Newcomb; Edward Walker; David Pogge; Taruna Ahluvalia; John Stokes; Leonard Handelsman; Martha Medrano; David Desmond; William Zule Journal: Child Abuse Negl Date: 2003-02
Authors: Aiste Lengvenyte; Robertas Strumila; Philippe Courtet; Scott Y H Kim; Emilie Olié Journal: Can J Psychiatry Date: 2020-06-05 Impact factor: 4.356
Authors: Ricardo Cáceda; Jessica M Carbajal; Ronald M Salomon; Jordan E Moore; Greg Perlman; Prasad R Padala; Abdullah Hasan; Pedro L Delgado Journal: Eur Neuropsychopharmacol Date: 2020-09-29 Impact factor: 4.600