Predicting the Trajectories of Perceived Pain Intensity in Southern Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Role of Religiousness

Fei Sun, Nan Sook Park, Jana Wardian, Beom S. Lee, Lucinda L. Roff, David L. Klemmack, Michael W. Parker, Harold G. Koenig, Patricia L. Sawyer, Richard M. Allman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study focuses on the identification of multiple latent trajectories of pain intensity, and it examines how religiousness is related to different classes of pain trajectory. Participants were 720 community-dwelling older adults who were interviewed at four time points over a 3-year period. Overall, intensity of pain decreased over 3 years. Analysis using latent growth mixture modeling (GMM) identified three classes of pain: (1) increasing (n = 47); (2) consistently unchanging (n = 292); and (3) decreasing (n = 381). Higher levels of intrinsic religiousness (IR) at baseline were associated with higher levels of pain at baseline, although it attenuated the slope of pain trajectories in the increasing pain group. Higher service attendance at baseline was associated with a higher probability of being in the decreasing pain group. The increasing pain group and the consistently unchanging group reported more negative physical and mental health outcomes than the decreasing pain group.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)643-662
Number of pages20
JournalResearch on Aging
Volume35
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • latent growth modeling
  • pain trajectory
  • religiousness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Health(social science)
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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