The relationship between greater mindfulness and less subjective experience of chronic pain: Mediating functions of pain management self-efficacy and emotional intelligence

Abstract

Previous research shows a connection between greater mindfulness and less subjective experience of pain. The present study examined whether pain management self-efficacy and emotional intelligence mediate this relationship in individuals experiencing chronic pain. Two hundred participants experiencing chronic pain completed measures of mindfulness, experience of pain, pain management self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence. Greater mindfulness was associated with less subjective experience of pain, greater pain management self-efficacy, and more emotional intelligence. More pain management self-efficacy and higher emotional intelligence were associated with less subjective experience of pain. Emotional intelligence and pain management self-efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and pain. The connection between greater mindfulness and less subjective experience of pain may be due to mindfulness providing a foundation for emotional functioning and behavioural regulation that result in reductions in the experience of pain.