Citation

Williams J, Hadjistavropoulos T, Asmundson GJG. Anxiety Stress Coping 2005; 18(1): 53-69.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10615800420004184

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The literature has demonstrated that high levels of fear of pain can lead to avoidance of beneficial activity (e.g., appropriate exercise, physiotherapy) and interfere with rehabilitation. Experimental investigations have also linked high levels of pain-related anxiety to attentional biases favoring pain-related stimuli. Despite the high prevalence of pain among seniors, fear of pain has not been adequately investigated in this population. Moreover, many seniors have been found to display high levels of fear of falling, which is also associated with activity avoidance. We investigated the relationship between fear of pain and fear of falling and studied attentional biases by comparing the responses of seniors to those of younger adults using a computerized task. Analyses supported the hypothesis that fear of pain and fear of falling are distinct, but related, constructs. However, the findings did not provide strong support for the existence of pervasive attentional and memory biases in our sample.