Citation

Tsur N, Shahar G, Defrin R, Lahav Y, Ginzburg K. J. Psychosom. Res. 2017; 99: 155-161.

Affiliation

The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.06.016

PMID

28712422

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Consistent with the human tendency to anthropomorphize objects, events, and situations, individuals might ascribe human characteristics to physical symptoms and illnesses. This manuscript presents an examination of chronic pain personification in torture survivors. Specifically, it was hypothesized that torture survivors personify chronic pain as a torturing sensation. It was further hypothesized that PTSD mediates the effect of past torture on torturing pain personification.

METHODS: Fifty-nine Israeli ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs), who experienced severe torture in captivity, and 44 matched controls completed self-administered questionnaires at 18, 30, and 35years post captivity.

RESULTS: Whereas ex-POWs exhibit higher torturing personification than controls, no differences were found in concrete description of chronic pain. PTSD trajectories were implicated in different levels of torturing personification. Finally, sequential mediation analysis revealed that PTSD at T2 and T3 mediated the association between torture and torturing personification.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that trauma shapes the way individuals relate to and experience their bodily sensations.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Chronic pain; PTSD; Pain personification; Torture survivors; Torturing personification