TY - JOUR
T1 - Electronic diary assessment of pain-related variables
T2 - Is reactivity a problem?
AU - Aaron, Leslie A.
AU - Turner, Judith A.
AU - Mancl, Lloyd
AU - Brister, Heather
AU - Sawchuk, Craig N.
PY - 2005/2
Y1 - 2005/2
N2 - Reactive measures (measures that change the phenomenon assessed) cause problems in interpreting any changes observed. This study examined whether electronic daily diary measures of pain, activity interference, mood, and pain beliefs were reactive in terms of both observable data and patient-reported effects. Patients with chronic temporomandibular disorder pain (N = 71, 86% female) completed electronic diaries 3 times daily for approximately 2 weeks and subsequently reported perceived effects on symptom-related variables. Seventy-three percent of patients reported that the assessment affected their pain, whereas 51%, 45%, and 39% thought that it affected their daily activities, mood, and beliefs, respectively. In contrast, there was little objective evidence of reactivity as observed in the electronic diary ratings; changes over 14 days were small (eg, predicted changes on 0 to 10 scales: positive mood, .1; pain, -.3; perceived control, -.5) and not statistically significant. Subjective reactivity was generally not significantly related to objective reactivity. The data suggest that patients view daily assessment as having positive and negative effects on pain-related variables, but pain-related measures do not show reactive effects.
AB - Reactive measures (measures that change the phenomenon assessed) cause problems in interpreting any changes observed. This study examined whether electronic daily diary measures of pain, activity interference, mood, and pain beliefs were reactive in terms of both observable data and patient-reported effects. Patients with chronic temporomandibular disorder pain (N = 71, 86% female) completed electronic diaries 3 times daily for approximately 2 weeks and subsequently reported perceived effects on symptom-related variables. Seventy-three percent of patients reported that the assessment affected their pain, whereas 51%, 45%, and 39% thought that it affected their daily activities, mood, and beliefs, respectively. In contrast, there was little objective evidence of reactivity as observed in the electronic diary ratings; changes over 14 days were small (eg, predicted changes on 0 to 10 scales: positive mood, .1; pain, -.3; perceived control, -.5) and not statistically significant. Subjective reactivity was generally not significantly related to objective reactivity. The data suggest that patients view daily assessment as having positive and negative effects on pain-related variables, but pain-related measures do not show reactive effects.
KW - Chronic pain
KW - Daily electronic interviews
KW - Reactivity
KW - Temporomandibular disorders
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=13444261099&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=13444261099&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.11.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.11.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 15694877
AN - SCOPUS:13444261099
SN - 1526-5900
VL - 6
SP - 107
EP - 115
JO - Journal of Pain
JF - Journal of Pain
IS - 2
ER -