Structural modeling of chronic pain self-management prediction in terms of mindfulness skills, metacognitive beliefs, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain

A review of the research literature showed that chronic pain self-management (CPSM) plays an important role in the health and optimal functioning of Affected people. However, few studies have examined the factors involved in CPSM in the form of a psychological model.

This study aimed to evaluate the fit of the conceptual model of CPSM based on mindfulness skills (MS), metacognitive beliefs (MB), and cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS) with empirical data obtained from people with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

The design of this research was descriptive-correlation of the type of structural equation modeling research. The statistical population of the present study included all patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain who were referred to Tehran hospitals between June 2020 and December 2021. The sample included 272 eligible individuals from two Imam Hussain and Besat hospitals in Tehran. Data were collected using PSMC-18 (Nicholas et al., 2012), FFMQ-39 (Bair et al., 2008), MCQ-30 (Wells and Cartwright-Hatton, 2004), CERQ-18 (Garnefski and Kraaij, 2006), and the GSCS-7 (Von Korff, et al., 1992) by online survey and then analyzed.

The results showed that the conceptual model of CPSM based on the data obtained from participants had a suitable and significant fit (CMIN/d= 2.41, SRMR= 0.068, RMSEA= 0.072,
PNFI= 0.077, CFI= 0.903, IFI= 0.904, GFI= 0.872). All predictor variables were able to directly explain CPSM (p< 0.05). Also, most indirect pathways showed significant effects on CPSM
(p< 0.05).

Structural relationships of MS, MB, and CERS can provide a significant explanation for CPSM in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Accordingly, it seems that designing educational interventions based on the proposed model can improve CPSM in these people.