The mediating role of chronic pain acceptance on the relationship between functional difficulties and depression in women with Chiari malformation.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: Women with Chiari malformation (CM), a congenital physical disability associated with significant chronic pain, frequently experience functional difficulties and depression. This study examined whether chronic pain acceptance, defined as the ability to acknowledge unpleasant sensations without attempting to alter or avoid them, mediates the association between functional difficulties and depression symptoms. RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN: This study included a baseline and 1-month follow-up assessment of 100 women with CM. At baseline, participants completed the interference subscale of the Brief Pain Inventory, the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale, and the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire; at 1-month follow-up, participants completed the depression subscale of the 21-item version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Mediation analyses were conducted using maximum likelihood estimation with missing values. RESULTS: = .02). CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: Chronic pain acceptance may be one possible modifiable mechanism linking functional difficulties and pain interference to depression symptoms among women with CM, suggesting that interventions targeting chronic pain acceptance may reduce depression risk in this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).