Associations among Pregnancy, Distress Tolerance, and Fear of Pain

Hannah E. Brown*, Cecelia I. Nelson, and Daniel W. McNeil

Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences (Poster Presentation #80)

Student’s Major: Psychology and Communication Studies

Although distress tolerance and fear of pain have been shown to impact many negative emotional and physiological states which women experience during pregnancy (e.g., anxiety, physical discomfort), there is limited research examining the association of these variables during this critical time period. The aim of this study was to understand the associations among distress tolerance and fear of pain, and their relation to a propensity to experience anxiety (i.e., anxiety sensitivity) during pregnancy. Data were collected from 150 women (M age=32.4, SD=6.2), some of whom were pregnant and some not, via Amazon’s Mturk. Participants completed the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9, Distress Tolerance Scale, and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3. Results showed a nonsignificant negative correlation between distress tolerance and fear of pain (r=-.12, p=.14). Pregnancy status also did not moderate the relation between distress tolerance and fear of pain (p=.10). Anxiety sensitivity, however, was related to both fear of pain (r=.24, p<.01) and distress tolerance (r=-.33, p<.001). With regard to pregnancy status, a model including anxiety sensitivity and pregnancy status predicted variance in fear of pain (R=.29, F(3,145)=4.57, p<.01), however, pregnancy status did not reliably moderate the correlation between anxiety sensitivity and fear of pain (p=.07). Thus, this study establishes an association between a disposition to experience anxiety and distress tolerance and fear of pain in women, regardless of pregnancy status. Additionally, pregnancy status contributes to variance in fear of pain in the presence of anxiety sensitivity, but more research is needed to establish the nature of this association.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: capstone course within my department