Examination of Psychological and Physiological Pathways Linking Gratitude and Pain
- Conditions
- Acute PainPositive ThinkingEmotions
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Behavioral Writing Intervention
- Registration Number
- NCT06317844
- Lead Sponsor
- Black Hills State University
- Brief Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effects of a brief gratitude intervention on individuals' psychological and physiological responses to acute pain. Furthermore, these associations will be examined in the context of genetic variations associated with both pain and psychological processes.
- Detailed Description
After being informed about the study and potential risks, all patients giving written informed consent will be randomized to a behavioral writing intervention and a cold pressor task. Participants will be randomized to a gratitude or neutral writing condition.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 150
- must be pain-free
- must be at least 18 years old
- cardiovascular disease
- Raynaud's disease
- epilepsy
- being pregnant
- having a current injury to or open cut or sore on one's non-dominant hand
- history of fainting or seizures
- history of frostbite in non-dominant hand
- chronic pain conditions (e.g., fibromyalgia, neuropathy, arthritis)
- diabetes
- malignant tumor
- chronic lung disease
- liver disease
- kidney disease
- gastrointestinal diseases
- currently taking opioids
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Neutral Writing Behavioral Writing Intervention Participants in the neutral writing condition will write continuously for 5 minutes about how they got to the research laboratory. Gratitude Writing Behavioral Writing Intervention In the gratitude writing condition, participants will write continuously for 5 minutes about someone they are grateful for.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in Subjective Pain Ratings from Baseline to 10-minutes Post Cold Pressor Test Baseline to 10 minutes post cold pressor test Self-reported measures of pain will be reported on a numeric scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (strongest pain imaginable every 15 seconds throughout a cold pressor test and again 1 minute and 10 minutes post cold pressor test.
Differences in Pain Tolerance to Cold Pressor Test Up to 1.5 minutes of Cold Pressor Test Pain tolerance will be measured in terms of how many seconds individuals can keep their hand submerged in near-freezing water, for a maximum of up to 90 seconds (the task will be ended at that point).
Differences in Pain Onset to Cold Pressor Test Up to 1.5 minutes of Cold Pressor Test Pain onset will be measured in seconds between participants submerging their hands into near-freezing water and the self-reported beginning of pain.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Differences in Autonomic Nervous System Responsivity Baseline to 10 minutes post cold pressor test Autonomic nervous system responsivity will be assessed using levels of salivary alpha-amylase. Unstimulated whole saliva samples will be collected using the passive drool technique at the following time points: 1) immediately following completion of baseline surveys, 2) immediately following the experimental writing task, 3) 1-minute post-cold pressor test, and 4) 10-minutes post-cold pressor test.
Differences in Pain-Related Cognition Immediately after the Cold Pressor Test The Rumination and Reappraisal subscales from the Pain-Related Cognitive Processes Questionnaire will be used to assess the extent to which individuals engaged in various thought processes during the cold pressor test. Each subscale is comprised of 6-items and answered on a 0 (Not at all) to 4 (All or most of the time) scale.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Black Hills State University
🇺🇸Spearfish, South Dakota, United States