Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Nov 24, 2021
Open Peer Review Period: Nov 24, 2021 - Jan 19, 2022
Date Accepted: Apr 10, 2022
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
The possible contribution of meaning in life in patients with chronic pain and suicidal ideation: An observational study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Chronic pain is associated with an elevated risk of suicidal ideation (SI). Meaning in Life (Mil) and its constructs, presence and search, as a resiliency factor possibly modulating the suicidal ideation in patients with chronic pain was explored.
Objective:
Our objectives were to examine if the presence or the search for MiL, are associated with less SI and to explore if MiL profiles emerge in our cohort.
Methods:
In our study, we recruited 70 patients who were referred to the Multidisciplinary Pain Centre (MPC) of the Geneva University Hospitals and who answered positively to the question of the Beck Depression Inventory investigating SI. Patients who agreed to participate in the study, were further investigated; they filled out the questionnaire of the meaning in life (MiLQ), as well as a semi-structured scale to assess the characteristics and severity of SI, the Suicidal Ideation Scale (SSI).
Results:
The results of our study showed that the presence of MiL is a potential protective factor against the severity of suicidal ideation, while the search for MiL is also a possible resiliency factor, although to a lesser extent than the presence. The profile “low presence and low search” of MiL represented the vast majority of the patients.
Conclusions:
The results of this study point to MiL as concept of interest when it comes to devising psychotherapeutic interventions for chronic pain patients in order to reduce the suicidal risk and better listen to the patients’ suffering.
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