Table 1.
Studies addressing associations between trait anger-out and pain-related outcomes.
| Reference |
Sample |
Acute Pain Stimulus or Clinical Pain Outcome |
Significant Results |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gelkopf (1997) |
Healthy (n=21) |
Cold Pressor Task |
↑ Anger-Out = ↓ Pain Tolerance |
|
Janssen et al. (2001) |
Healthy (n=56) |
Cold Pressor Task with and without harassment |
↓ Control of Anger Expression (↑ Anger-Out?) = ↓ Pain Threshold and Tolerance regardless of harassment condition |
|
Burns et al. (2004) |
Healthy (n=53) |
Cold Pressor Task with and without harassment |
↑ Anger-Out = ↓ Pain Tolerance but only after harassment |
|
Burns et al. (2007) |
Healthy (n=187) |
Cold Pressor Task with and without harassment/with and without suppression of anger-related thoughts |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity but only after harassment with anger suppression |
| Bruehl et al. (2002) | Healthy (n=45) | Finger Pressure Pain Task | ↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity |
| |
CLBP (n=43) |
Ischemic Pain Task |
|
| Bruehl et al. (2007) | Healthy (n=14) | Finger Pressure Pain Task | ↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity only in the CLBP group |
| |
CLBP (n=13) |
Ischemic Pain Task |
|
| Bruehl et al. (2008) | Healthy (n=53) | Finger Pressure Pain Task | No significant main effects of Anger-Out |
| CLBP (n=34) | Ischemic Pain Task | ||
| |
|
Thermal Pain Task |
|
|
Voulgari et al (1991) |
Post-Surgical Patients (n = 162) |
Post-Surgical Pain Intensity Ratings |
↑ Extrovert Hostility (↑ Anger-Out ?) = ↑ Pain Intensity |
| Bruehl et al. (2006) |
Post-Surgical Patients (n=48) |
Post-Surgical Pain Intensity Ratings |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Sensory Pain Intensity |
| Martin et al. (1999) | Community Sample (n=65) | Weekly somatic symptoms including pain | ↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Somatic Symptoms |
| Study 1 |
|
|
|
| Martin et al. (1999) | Healthy (n=180) | Weekly somatic symptoms including pain | ↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Somatic Symptoms |
| Study 2 |
|
|
|
| Materazzo et al. (2000) | Migraine (n=28) | Two-week daily headache severity diary | ↑ Baseline Anger-Out = ↑ Mean Daily Headache Severity (prospective) only in migraine sample |
| |
Tension-Type Headache (n=14) |
|
|
|
Venable et al. (2001) |
Mixed Headache Diagnoses (n=65) |
Retrospective ratings of typical headache intensity |
No significant Anger-Out effects |
| Sayar et al. (2004) | Fibromyalgia (n=50) | Chronic pain intensity ratings | ↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity in Fibromyalgia sample. Directionally positive but nonsignificant in arthritis sample. |
| |
Rheumatoid Arthritis (n=20) |
|
|
|
Gaskin et al. (1992) |
Mixed chronic pain diagnoses (n=60) |
Chronic pain intensity ratings |
Multiple regression indicated no significant effects of anger-out when controlling for state and trait depression and anxiety. Zero-order correlations not reported. |
|
Kerns et al. (1994) |
Mixed chronic pain diagnoses (n= 142) |
Chronic pain intensity ratings |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity |
|
Lombardo et al. (2005) |
Mixed chronic pain diagnoses (n= 564) |
Chronic pain intensity ratings |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity |
|
Bruehl et al. (2002) |
CLBP (n=43) |
7-day chronic pain intensity diary |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Mean Weekly Sensory Pain Intensity |
|
Bruehl et al. (2003a) |
CLBP (n=71) |
7-day chronic pain intensity diary |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Mean Weekly Sensory Pain Intensity |
|
Carson et al. (2005) |
CLBP (n=61) |
Chronic pain intensity ratings |
Effects of anger-out directionally positive but nonsignificant |
| Bruehl et al. (2003b) | CRPS (n=34) | Chronic pain intensity ratings | ↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity in CRPS group but not in the Non-CRPS group |
| |
Non-CRPS Limb Pain (n=50) |
|
|
|
Burns & Bruehl (2005) |
Mixed chronic pain diagnoses (n= 136) |
Chronic pain intensity ratings |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Pain Intensity only in patients not taking opioid analgesics |
|
Duckro et al. (1995) |
Posttraumatic headache (n = 84) |
Headache-related disability |
↑ Anger-Out = ↑ Headache-Related Disability |
|
Burns et al. (1998) |
Mixed chronic pain diagnoses (n=101) |
Improvements in lifting capacity following multidisciplinary pain treatment |
↑ Anger-Out = ↓ Improvements in Lifting Capacity in Male Patients only |
| Burns et al. (1996) | Mixed chronic pain diagnoses (n=135) | Chronic pain intensity ratings | ↑ Anger-Out (+ High Hostility) = ↑ Pain Intensity in Female patients but ↓ Pain Intensity in Male patients |