Mindfully Attending to Pain Sensations

Brief summary (from the registry)

Substantial evidence suggests that psychosocial factors play a key role in explaining the risk for development of chronic pain, as well as for coping with it. Such factors include psychological perceptions or orientation towards pain, mainly referring to fear of pain and pain catastrophizing. Nonetheless, although this link is well documented, the underlying mechanisms of these processes have yet to be established. The "Attention to Variability" paradigm presents an explanatory mechanism, according to which the ability to mindfully attend to chronic symptoms enables and promotes increased control over the etiology and the expression of chronic symptoms. In support of the ATV paradigm, empirical findings demonstrate that ATV improved pregnancy outcomes and allowed people to gain control over fluctuations in their heart rates. The goal of the present study is to examine whether mindfully attending to pain sensations will decrease the intensity and frequency of chronic pain, increase perceived control of pain, and improve well-being and health-related quality of life.

Study details

Official title

Mindfully Attending to Pain Sensations

Conditions

• Chronic Pain

Interventions

• Behavioral: High Mindfulness
• Behavioral: Low Mindfulness
• Behavioral: Active Control

Sponsor

Harvard University

Start date

2018-04-20

Primary completion

2019-12-18

Sex

All

Age range

from 18 Years

Results posted

No results posted in this snapshot

Countries

United States

Total sites listed

4

Eligibility criteria