Catastrophizing and pain perception in sport participants

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to examine the relation between catastrophizing and pain in sport participants. Study 1 compared the factor structure of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS; Sullivan et al., 1995) in a sample of 97 individuals who reported engaging in regular sporting activity and 140 sedentary individuals. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that, in both sport and sedentary samples, a three factor solution, comprising rumination, magnification, and helplessness provided the best fit to the data. Study 2 examined differences in pain perception in 54 (28 women, 26 men) varsity athletes and 54 (27 women, 27 men) sedentary controls who participated in an experimental pain procedure. Participants completed the PCS prior to immersing one arm in ice water for one minute. Athletes reported less pain than sedentary individuals, and men reported less pain than women. For both athlete and sedentary groups, catastrophizing was a significant predictor of pain experience. Regression analyses revealed that although catastrophizing accounted for differences in pain perception between men and women