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Publication
The meaning making model applied to community-dwelling adults with chronic pain
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Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Purpose: Chronic pain is a multidimensional experience that is influenced by biological,
psychological, social, and spiritual factors. The Meaning Making Model is a recent cognitive
behavioral model that has been developed to understand how psychosocial factors influence
adjustment to stressful events, such as having a chronic illness. This qualitative study aims to
understand the potential utility of this model for understanding the role of meaning making in
adjustment to chronic pain.
Materials and Methods: Eighteen community-dwelling adults with chronic low back pain
or chronic pain due to osteoarthritis participated in four focus groups. Participants were
asked open-ended questions about their pain experience, pain-related beliefs, meaning of
pain, and the perceived association between pain and their meaning in life and sense of
purpose. Data were submitted to thematic analysis and the identified themes were considered
in light of the Meaning Making Model.
Results: Three overarching themes emerged, each of which included two themes. The first
overarching theme – “appraised meaning of pain” – included the themes “causal attributions”
and “primary appraisals.” The second – “meaning making processes” – included the themes
“assimilation” and “accommodation.” The third – “meanings made” – included the themes
“pain as an opportunity” and “acceptance.”
Conclusion: The key themes that emerged as individuals with chronic pain discussed pain
and its impact are consistent with those that would be hypothesized as important from the
Meaning Making Model, providing preliminary support for the utility of this model in the
context of chronic pain. People with chronic pain appear to appraise pain in terms of its
cause, controllability, threat, loss, or challenge. When a discrepancy between the appraised
meaning of pain and one’s global meaning emerged, participants engaged in meaning making
processes (accommodation and assimilation), resulting in meanings made, such as
a reappraised meaning of pain, perceptions of growth, and acceptance.
Description
Keywords
Chronic pain Meaning in life Meaning of pain Thematic analysis
Citation
Ferreira-Valente, A., Fontes, F., Pais-Ribeiro, J., & Jensen, M. P. (2021). The Meaning Making Model Applied to Community-Dwelling Adults with Chronic Pain. Journal of Pain Research, 14, 2295–2311
Publisher
Dove Medical Press Ltd.