Personality and health in chronic pain: Have we failed to appreciate a relationship?

Pain research has failed to replicate personality-health associations found in the general population. Two hypotheses were tested in the present study. First, that methodological shortcomings found in previous research are responsible for the inconsistencies. Second, that pain is a contextual factor (i.e., moderator) influencing the relationship between personality and health. We enrolled 495 patients with chronic pain (mean age = 58.54 years, 63% women). Most had low back pain (59%). The study design was cross-sectional. We assessed the Five Factor Model of personality, several components of health, and pain intensity at the time of assessment. The relation between personality and health was not moderated by pain levels. In contrast, results revealed a main effect of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness beyond the contribution of pain intensity, age, and gender. In light of the study results, the first hypothesis was supported. That is, when using a robust methodological work (i.e., using a large sample and controlling for covariates and type I errors), personality-health associations found in the general population are replicated in pain settings. In contrast, our results did not support the second hypothesis, that is, that pain moderated the relationship between personality and health. Clinical implications are discussed.