Date of Award
2-4-2025
Publication Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Psychology
Keywords
Chronic Pain; Coping; Emerging Adults; Pain Self-Efficacy; Traumatic Stress
Supervisor
Jessica Kichler
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
A connection between chronic pain and traumatic stress has previously been established in both pediatric and adult populations. However, there remains a paucity of research on how emerging adults specifically cope with chronic pain and trauma. The current study aimed to: (1) evaluate the influence of post-traumatic stress and pain self-efficacy on the relationship between pain and coping in emerging adults, (2) examine differences in coping and pain self-efficacy based on trauma history, and (3) gain insight into the unique coping strategies used by this population. Data were was collected from a sample of emerging adults (aged 18-25) for this two part study, which adopted a convergent, parallel mixed-methods approach. In Part 1, chronic pain was correlated with three coping styles (i.e., active, passive, accommodative), but post- traumatic stress did not mediate these relationships. However, pain self-efficacy moderated the relationship between pain and active coping. Further, emerging adults with higher levels of post- traumatic stress were found to use all three coping styles less frequently than those with lower levels of traumatic stress. In Part 2, qualitative analyses demonstrated the use of three overarching coping styles and 14 unique coping strategies. A convergent analysis of the data from Parts 1 and 2 confirmed the use of certain coping strategies (e.g., positive thinking, problem solving, seeking social support); however, discrepancies between the data suggest novel coping strategies may be used by emerging adults. The results of this study indicate that previous theories on chronic pain coping and traumatic stress may not sufficiently capture the unique experiences of emerging adults and need to be further elucidated. The information from this study can still be used to establish a unique framework on how emerging adults cope with chronic pain and trauma, as well as inform recommendations for patient-centred interventions.
Recommended Citation
Miljanovski, Melissa Andrea, "“The Pain Doesn’t Control Me:” A Parallel Mixed-Method Analysis of Chronic Pain Coping and Traumatic Stress in Emerging Adults" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 9684.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/9684