Pain Catastrophizing as a Mediator Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Somatic Symptoms
Keywords:
Anxiety sensitivity, Pain catastrophizing, Somatic symptomsAbstract
This study aimed to examine whether pain catastrophizing mediates the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptoms in a community sample of Spanish adults. A descriptive correlational design was employed using self-report measures, including the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15). A total of 422 adults from Spain were selected based on the Morgan and Krejcie sample size table and completed the questionnaires via online administration. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS-27, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed using AMOS-21 to assess the hypothesized mediation model and model fit. Descriptive analysis revealed moderate levels of anxiety sensitivity (M = 38.47, SD = 8.62), pain catastrophizing (M = 26.38, SD = 10.17), and somatic symptoms (M = 14.92, SD = 5.78). Pearson correlations showed significant positive relationships between anxiety sensitivity and pain catastrophizing (r = .61, p < .001), anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptoms (r = .49, p < .001), and pain catastrophizing and somatic symptoms (r = .57, p < .001). The SEM results indicated an acceptable model fit (χ²/df = 2.11; CFI = .97; RMSEA = .051), with pain catastrophizing fully mediating the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptoms. The indirect effect (β = .28, p < .001) was significant, while the direct effect (β = .12, p = .128) was not. The findings suggest that pain catastrophizing plays a central mediating role in the link between anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptoms. These results underscore the importance of targeting cognitive-affective factors such as catastrophizing in interventions aimed at reducing somatic distress in individuals with high anxiety sensitivity.
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