• Lin Yu, Kitty Kioskli, and Lance M McCracken.
• Middlesex University, Department of Psychology, UK. Electronic address: l.yu@mdx.ac.uk.
• J Pain. 2021 Aug 1; 22 (8): 926939926-939.

AimsPeople with chronic pain may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic COVID-19, and psychological flexibility may protect them. This study investigates psychological functioning in the context of COVID-19, including fear and avoidance in the context of COVID-19, specifically its association with daily functioning, and the role of psychological flexibility, among people with chronic pain.MethodsResponses from 555 adults with chronic pain were collected through a cross-sectional online survey and analyzed.ResultsEight out of 10 participants reported significant depression and nearly 9 out of 10 reported significant functional impairment. COVID-19-related fear and avoidance significantly correlated with pain, pain-related disability, depression, and work and social adjustment (r = 18-.32), as well as psychological flexibility processes, including pain acceptance, self-as-context, and committed action, |r|=.13-.30. COVID-19-related fear and avoidance and COVID-19-related interference were significant predictors of some measures of daily functioning beyond demographics and pain, β = .09-.14. However, these associations weakened when psychological flexibility processes were factored into the models, with fear of COVID-19 no longer being a significant predictor of pain-related disability or depression, and COVID-19 avoidance no longer a significant predictor of depression.ConclusionsThe psychological functioning in the context of COVID-19 appears to be negatively associated with daily functioning in people with chronic pain, and is statistically significant in this regard. Psychological flexibility may have a role in these associations for people with chronic pain in the pandemic.PerspectiveThis article demonstrates the psychological implication of COVID-19 and its association with broader emotional and daily functioning in people with chronic pain. It also demonstrates that Psychological flexibility may have a role in these associations for people with chronic pain in the pandemic.Copyright © 2021 United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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