Social comparison orientation in chronic pain patients and its effectiveness on coping style

Objective To explore the social comparison orientation in chronic pain patients and its effectiveness on coping style. Methods A total of 246 patients with chronic pain hospitalized in Pain Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from April 2017 to August 2018 were selected by convenience sampling. Chinese Version of the Social Comparison Orientation Scale and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire were used to investigate the social comparison orientation and coping style. Univariate analysis and correlation analysis were performed using Pearson correlation analysis, t-test, analysis of variance test. Multivariate linear stepwise regression analysis was used to analyze influencing factors of coping style. Results Among 246 patients, the score of social comparison orientation was (36.32±8.25) , with (21.04±4.96) in dimension of ability and (15.28±4.43) in dimension of viewpoint. The scores of facing, avoidance and yield coping style were (18.27±4.10) , (16.45±3.69) and (16.22±3.58) respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that social comparison orientation negatively correlated with facing coping style (r=-0.347, P 0.05) . Multivariate linear stepwise regression analysis revealed that social comparison orientation and marital status were influencing factors of patients' facing coping style; course of disease, religious and living alone affected avoidance coping style of patients; social comparison orientation and course of disease were influencing factors of yield coping style of patients. Conclusions Medical staff should emphasize spousal support, establish individual regular visiting and home follow-up for patients living alone, and use a variety of comparative methods to improve active coping methods combining with individual social comparison orientation. Key words: Pain; Social comparison orientation; Coping style