{"id":{"repo_id":"mississippi","oai_identifier":"oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1811"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mississippi/oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1811","repository":{"repo_id":"mississippi","name":"University of Mississippi","base_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The Role Of Fear Of Pain In Headache","abstract":"Recurrent headache sufferers are often fearful of pain, which disrupts cognitive thought processes, interferes with daily activities, and may maintain headache-related disability through avoidance and associated negative reinforcement. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to 1) examine differences in fear of pain between headache sufferers and non-headache controls; 2) examine differences in fear of pain across primary headache diagnostic groups; 3) assess the extent to which fear of pain predicts headache variables (e.g., severity, frequency, disability); and 4) determine whether fear of pain mediates the relationship between pain severity and headache-related disability. The sample consisted of 908 young adults ages 18-49 (M = 19.52 years; 64.9% female). Of those, 237 (26.1%) met the diagnostic criteria for episodic tension-type headache, 232 (25.6%) for episodic migraine (167 [18.4%] without aura and 65 [7.2%] with aura), 38 (4.2%) for chronic migraine, and 19 (2.1%) for chronic tension-type headache; 382 (42.1%) served as non-headache controls. Fear of pain differed among groups, with headache sufferers reporting greater fear of pain than those without headache; migraineurs typically endorsed greater fear of pain than those with tension-type headache. Among those with headache, fear of pain significantly predicted headache severity (R2 = 6.1%) and frequency (R2 = 4.5%), and accounted for more variance in disability (R2 = 17.5%) than gender, anxiety, and depression combined (13.8%). Pain severity and disability were strongly associated ( r = .61, p < .001), and fear of pain partially mediated this association (indirect effect point estimate = 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23 to 0.57). Fear of pain differentiates migraineurs from those without headache and plays a significant role in primary headache, particularly in headache-related disability. Findings build upon and extend those from previous chronic pain studies and highlight the need for longitudinal and experimental studies to further explore this construct in headache.","abstract_html":"Recurrent headache sufferers are often fearful of pain, which disrupts cognitive thought processes, interferes with daily activities, and may maintain headache-related disability through avoidance and associated negative reinforcement. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to 1) examine differences in fear of pain between headache sufferers and non-headache controls; 2) examine differences in fear of pain across primary headache diagnostic groups; 3) assess the extent to which fear of pain predicts headache variables (e.g., severity, frequency, disability); and 4) determine whether fear of pain mediates the relationship between pain severity and headache-related disability. The sample consisted of 908 young adults ages 18-49 (M = 19.52 years; 64.9% female). Of those, 237 (26.1%) met the diagnostic criteria for episodic tension-type headache, 232 (25.6%) for episodic migraine (167 [18.4%] without aura and 65 [7.2%] with aura), 38 (4.2%) for chronic migraine, and 19 (2.1%) for chronic tension-type headache; 382 (42.1%) served as non-headache controls. Fear of pain differed among groups, with headache sufferers reporting greater fear of pain than those without headache; migraineurs typically endorsed greater fear of pain than those with tension-type headache. Among those with headache, fear of pain significantly predicted headache severity (R2 = 6.1%) and frequency (R2 = 4.5%), and accounted for more variance in disability (R2 = 17.5%) than gender, anxiety, and depression combined (13.8%). Pain severity and disability were strongly associated ( r = .61, p &lt; .001), and fear of pain partially mediated this association (indirect effect point estimate = 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23 to 0.57). Fear of pain differentiates migraineurs from those without headache and plays a significant role in primary headache, particularly in headache-related disability. Findings build upon and extend those from previous chronic pain studies and highlight the need for longitudinal and experimental studies to further explore this construct in headache.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Black, Anna Katherine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Todd A. Smitherman","Alan M. Gross","Michael Allen"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:05:59Z","subjects":["Disability","Fear Of Pain","Headache","Mediator","Migraine","Tension-Type Headache","Clinical Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/812","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Todd A. Smitherman","Alan M. Gross","Michael Allen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Black, Anna Katherine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Disability","Fear Of Pain","Headache","Mediator","Migraine","Tension-Type Headache","Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/812"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Recurrent headache sufferers are often fearful of pain, which disrupts cognitive thought processes, interferes with daily activities, and may maintain headache-related disability through avoidance and associated negative reinforcement. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to 1) examine differences in fear of pain between headache sufferers and non-headache controls; 2) examine differences in fear of pain across primary headache diagnostic groups; 3) assess the extent to which fear of pain predicts headache variables (e.g., severity, frequency, disability); and 4) determine whether fear of pain mediates the relationship between pain severity and headache-related disability. The sample consisted of 908 young adults ages 18-49 (M = 19.52 years; 64.9% female). Of those, 237 (26.1%) met the diagnostic criteria for episodic tension-type headache, 232 (25.6%) for episodic migraine (167 [18.4%] without aura and 65 [7.2%] with aura), 38 (4.2%) for chronic migraine, and 19 (2.1%) for chronic tension-type headache; 382 (42.1%) served as non-headache controls. Fear of pain differed among groups, with headache sufferers reporting greater fear of pain than those without headache; migraineurs typically endorsed greater fear of pain than those with tension-type headache. Among those with headache, fear of pain significantly predicted headache severity (R2 = 6.1%) and frequency (R2 = 4.5%), and accounted for more variance in disability (R2 = 17.5%) than gender, anxiety, and depression combined (13.8%). Pain severity and disability were strongly associated ( r = .61, p < .001), and fear of pain partially mediated this association (indirect effect point estimate = 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23 to 0.57). Fear of pain differentiates migraineurs from those without headache and plays a significant role in primary headache, particularly in headache-related disability. Findings build upon and extend those from previous chronic pain studies and highlight the need for longitudinal and experimental studies to further explore this construct in headache."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Role Of Fear Of Pain In Headache"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Todd A. Smitherman","Alan M. Gross","Michael Allen"],"dc:creator":["Black, Anna Katherine"],"dc:date.available":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Recurrent headache sufferers are often fearful of pain, which disrupts cognitive thought processes, interferes with daily activities, and may maintain headache-related disability through avoidance and associated negative reinforcement. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to 1) examine differences in fear of pain between headache sufferers and non-headache controls; 2) examine differences in fear of pain across primary headache diagnostic groups; 3) assess the extent to which fear of pain predicts headache variables (e.g., severity, frequency, disability); and 4) determine whether fear of pain mediates the relationship between pain severity and headache-related disability. The sample consisted of 908 young adults ages 18-49 (M = 19.52 years; 64.9% female). Of those, 237 (26.1%) met the diagnostic criteria for episodic tension-type headache, 232 (25.6%) for episodic migraine (167 [18.4%] without aura and 65 [7.2%] with aura), 38 (4.2%) for chronic migraine, and 19 (2.1%) for chronic tension-type headache; 382 (42.1%) served as non-headache controls. Fear of pain differed among groups, with headache sufferers reporting greater fear of pain than those without headache; migraineurs typically endorsed greater fear of pain than those with tension-type headache. Among those with headache, fear of pain significantly predicted headache severity (R2 = 6.1%) and frequency (R2 = 4.5%), and accounted for more variance in disability (R2 = 17.5%) than gender, anxiety, and depression combined (13.8%). Pain severity and disability were strongly associated ( r = .61, p < .001), and fear of pain partially mediated this association (indirect effect point estimate = 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23 to 0.57). Fear of pain differentiates migraineurs from those without headache and plays a significant role in primary headache, particularly in headache-related disability. Findings build upon and extend those from previous chronic pain studies and highlight the need for longitudinal and experimental studies to further explore this construct in headache."],"dc:identifier":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/812"],"dc:subject":["Disability","Fear Of Pain","Headache","Mediator","Migraine","Tension-Type Headache","Clinical Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Role Of Fear Of Pain In Headache"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:05:59Z"}