Psychological Functioning in Five Pain Syndromes

This study compared the psychological functioning of 275 individuals requesting outpatient treatment for one of five chronic pain syndromes: tension headaches, backaches, migraine headaches, temporomandibular pain, and gastrointestinal pain syndromes. The measure used to assess psychological functioning was the SCL-90. Results show a continuum of acknowledged psychological distress among the groups, with the least amount reported by temporomandibular joint pain patients, and the greatest degree of psychological disturbance reported by the gastrointestinal pain patients. Between these two groups were the migraine patients, backache patients, and the tension headache patients, ranging in this sequence from the low to the higher end of reported psychological symptoms. Demographic and health utilization data, along with duration of pain and referral mechanisms, are also reported for each of the groups.