• Julia R Craner, Eric S Lake, Kimberly E Bancroft, and Karen M Hanson.
• Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Pain Med. 2020 Nov 1; 21 (11): 2789-2798.

ObjectiveThis study assessed the prevalence of abusive partner relationships among individuals presenting for chronic pain treatment. In addition, this study examined the association between partner abuse histories and pain-relevant outcome variables.DesignCross-sectional.SettingThis study took place at a specialty pain rehabilitation treatment center in the Midwestern United States.SubjectsParticipants in this study (N = 108) included adults (Mage = 45.73 [15.95] years) presenting for chronic pain treatment who consented to participate in a research study on stress, relationships, and chronic pain.MethodsParticipants completed self-report measures about relationship and abuse histories, physical and mental health, and demographic information. Participants were categorized into the following groups: no intimate partner violence (IPV), past IPV (>12 months ago), or current/recent IPV (≤12 months ago).ResultsResults indicated that over half (56%) of the sample endorsed a history of partner abuse and around one-third (29%) of the sample had experienced abuse within the past year. Psychological/emotional abuse was the most common form of abuse reported. Those with current/recent abuse histories reported greater impairment in pain interference, post-traumatic stress symptoms, mental health functioning, and pain self-efficacy compared with those who had not experienced abuse in the past year.ConclusionsPartner abuse appears common among individuals with chronic pain and is associated with pain-relevant outcomes, warranting additional clinical attention and research in this area.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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