• Lachlan A McWilliams, John Kowal, Michelle J Verrier, and Bruce D Dick.
• Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
• Pain Med. 2017 Dec 1; 18 (12): 2331-2339.

ObjectiveThe operant theory of chronic pain and related research suggest pain-related solicitous support promotes disability. The current study investigated the hypotheses that solicitous support is positively associated with both disability and relationship satisfaction and that these relationships are moderated by the level of desire for this type of support.MethodsPatients with chronic pain (N = 147) and in a relationship were recruited from a multidisciplinary pain treatment center. They provided self-reports of the amount of three types of pain-related support wanted and received (i.e., solicitous, encouragement, and suppression), disability, and relationship satisfaction.ResultsA hierarchical regression analysis indicated that solicitous support received was not significantly associated with disability. However, a moderation effect was found regarding encouragement. Encouragement received was negatively associated with disability, and this relationship was strongest at lower levels of interest in encouragement. Solicitous support received had a large positive association with relationship satisfaction.ConclusionsThe findings suggest the influence of pain-related support is more complex than suggested by the operant conditioning model of chronic pain, which emphasizes the possible detrimental impact of solicitous support. Further research is warranted regarding the potential relationship enhancing effects of solicitous support and the influence of encouragement on disability experienced by those with chronic pain.© 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

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