ACICR 2007 -2008 Annual Report Addendum - Alberta Centre for ...

Coping with Pain: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Understanding
the Interrelationships between coping, depression and pain after a Whiplash
Injury
Background
Goal
Objective
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Coping with pain refers to how individuals manage their pain. Some types of
coping are less effective than others and are highly associated with depressed
mood and development of chronic, severe pain and also impact on recovery after a
whiplash injury. However, it is unclear how coping strategies change over the
post-injury recovery period, or at what point in the recovery period they are most
highly associated with pain and depression. This question provides a
methodological challenge to data analysis, and a promising approach is to use path
analysis, which is a form of structural equation modeling, to approaching the
question. Path analysis is a data analysis technique which permits us to
disentangle direct, indirect and total effects of one variable on another.
Coping is an important prognostic factor in recovery from whiplash injuries,
understanding the role coping plays and how it changes over time may assist us in
enhancing recovery from this common traffic-related injury and decrease the
personal and societal burden of this injury.
To report how coping strategies change over the recovery period and to explain the
interrelationships between coping, depression and pain over time.
Ongoing.
Institutional Affiliations
• University of Alberta
• University of Toronto
• Institute for Work and Health, Toronto
Dr. Linda J. Carroll, Associate Professor
Phone: (780) 492-9767
Email: lcarroll@ualberta.ca
Alberta Centre for Injury Control & Research Page 40 of 66 Annual Report Addendum 2007/2008