Longitudinal investigation of pain catastrophizing, pain intensity, and suicidal ideation in women receiving residential treatment for an eating disorder.

Abstract

Pain catastrophizing and pain intensity are related to suicidal thoughts and eating disorders. When individuals experience both high pain intensity and catastrophizing, they may experience higher levels of suicidal ideation (SI). Despite increased risk for SI in eating disorder (ED) populations, no research has examined the relationship between pain experience and suicidal thoughts using a longitudinal design. The current study tested the weekly relationships between pain catastrophizing and pain intensity on SI in a clinical sample of women engaged in residential ED treatment. Female participants (N = 79; M_age = 26.44, 92.4% White, 94.9% Non-Hispanic/Latina) sought treatment at a residential ED treatment facility and completed self-report measures each week. Random intercept, random slope models were specified to test the relationship between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing on SI over eight weeks of treatment. Individuals with higher pain catastrophizing demonstrated greater severity of SI. There were no significant effects for within-person pain catastrophizing, within-person pain intensity, or for the interaction between within-person pain catastrophizing and intensity variables on SI. Pain catastrophizing is associated with SI at the between person level across residential ED treatment. Pain catastrophizing may be an important target for the prevention or treatment of SI in at-risk populations.