Everyday Pain in Middle and Later Life: Associations with Daily and Momentary Present-Moment Awareness as One Key Facet of Mindfulness

Author: Theresa Pauly1, Anna Nicol2, Jennifer C Lay3, Maureen C Ashe4,5, Denis Gerstorf6, Peter Graf2, Wolfgang Linden2, Kenneth M Madden4,7, Atiya Mahmood1, Rachel A Murphy8,9, Christiane A Hoppmann2
Affiliation:
1 Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
2 Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
3 Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
4 Center for Aging SMART, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
5 Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
6 Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
7 Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
8 Cancer Control Research, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
9 School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Conference/Journal: Can J Aging
Date published: 2023 Aug 11
Other: Special Notes: doi: 10.1017/S0714980823000326. , Word Count: 159


This study investigated everyday associations between one key facet of mindfulness (allocating attention to the present moment) and pain. In Study 1, 89 community-dwelling adults (33-88 years; Mage = 68.6) who had experienced a stroke provided 14 daily end-of-day present-moment awareness and pain ratings. In Study 2, 100 adults (50-85 years; Mage = 67.0 years) provided momentary present-moment awareness and pain ratings three times daily for 10 days. Multi-level models showed that higher trait present-moment awareness was linked with lower overall pain (both studies). In Study 1, participants reported less pain on days on which they indicated higher present-moment awareness. In Study 2, only individuals with no post-secondary education reported less pain in moments when they indicated higher present-moment awareness. Findings add to previous research using global retrospective pain measures by showing that present-moment awareness might correlate with reduced pain experiences, assessed close in time to when they occur.

Keywords: AVC; adaptation; aging; coping; daily diary; douleur; journal quotidien; mindfulness; pain; pleine conscience; stroke; time-sampling; vieillissement; échantillonnage temporel.

PMID: 37565431 DOI: 10.1017/S0714980823000326

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