A confirmatory factor analysis of the Resilience Scale adapted to chronic pain (RS-18): new empirical evidence of the protective role of resilience on pain adjustment

• Published in: Quality of life research 2015-05, Vol.24 (5), p.1245-1253
• Main Authors: Ruiz-Párraga, Gema T., López-Martínez, Alicia E., Esteve, Rosa, Ramírez-Maestre, Carmen, Wagnild, Gail
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adjustment; Adult; Aged; Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; Back pain; Back Pain - psychology; Catastrophization; Chronic illnesses; Chronic pain; Chronic Pain - psychology; CLINICAL AND POLICY APPLICATIONS; Data collection; Discriminant analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Fear - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Musculoskeletal Pain - psychology; Pain Measurement; Patients; Personality; Public Health; Quality of Life; Quality of Life Research; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Regression Analysis; Resilience, Psychological; Sociology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Validation studies; Validity; Variables
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1007/s11136-014-0852-z

Purpose Recent attention has focused on resilience as an important process in the experience and management of chronic pain. In this context, resilience is considered as a psychological factor that promotes adaptive responses to pain and pain-related life adversities. Current research suggests that it is a relevant variable in the prediction of pain adjustment among chronic pain patients. Recently, it was adapted the Resilience Scale to patients suffering chronic musculoskeletal pain (RS-18). The aims of this study were to confirm the internal structure of the RS-18 and to present new empirical evidence regarding its validity. Methods A sample of 592 patients with chronic musculoskeletal back pain completed a battery of instruments to assess resilience, anxiety sensitivity, catastrophizing, fearavoidance beliefs, hypervigilance, pain acceptance, and pain adjustment variables (pain intensity, emotional distress, functional impairment, and daily functioning). Results Confirmatory factor analysis supported the validity of the RS-18 and a single-factor solution. A series of moderated multiple regression analysis showed that resilience is a relevant psychological variable that not only independently predicts better pain adjustment, but also moderates the relationships between several psychological pain-related variables and pain adjustment variables. Conclusions These findings give empirical support to the consideration of resilience as a protective variable in chronic pain adjustment and highlight the consideration that improving resilient behaviour could be an important target for the treatment of pain patients.