Meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and pain catastrophising as mediators between neuroticism and pain behaviour

© 2015 The Australian Psychological SocietyBackground: The present study explored the relationship between neuroticism, meta-cognitive beliefs about worry, pain catastrophising, and pain behaviour. Methods: A non-clinical convenience sample of 308 participants completed the following four measures in this cross-sectional study: Neo Five-Factor Inventory, Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire 30, Pain Catastrophising Scale, and the Pain Behaviour Checklist. Results: A multiple-step multiple mediator analysis was employed to test a model in which (1) positive meta-cognitive beliefs about worry would mediate the relationship between neuroticism and pain catastrophising and (2) negative meta-cognitive beliefs about worry would mediate the relationship between pain catastrophising and self-reported pain behaviour. We also hypothesised that the combined effects of meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and pain catastrophising on self-reported pain behaviour would be independent of neuroticism. Results supported the proposed structure with pain catastrophising and meta-cognitive beliefs about worry mediating fully the effect of neuroticism on self-reported pain behaviour. Conclusions: These findings identify, for the first time in the literature, a link between meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and both self-reported pain behaviour and pain catastrophising. The implications of these findings are discussed. This is an electronic version of an article published in Spada, MM and Gay, H and Nikčevic, AV and Fernie, BA and Caselli, G (2016) Meta-cognitive beliefs about worry and pain catastrophising as mediators between neuroticism and pain behaviour. Clinical Psychologist, 20 (3). pp. 138-146. DOI 10.1111/cp.1208