Personality profiles and subjective perception of pain in head pain patients

Abstract Little or no information is available regarding the effect of the personality characteristics of headache sufferers on the quality of pain perception. The aim of this study is to investigate, in head pain sufferers, the relationship between the personality profile, assessed by the MMPI, and the different dimensions of pain (sensory, affective and evaluative), as assessed by the MPQ. Three hundred and seventeen patients with Migraine and/or tension-type headache (episodic or chronic) and myogenic facial pain were included. The Italian versions of the MMPI-2 and MPQ were administered, and the pain level was measured by the VAS. Cluster analysis based on the clinical scales of MMPI identified four personality profiles closely corresponding to the MMPI profiles obtained by the previous researchers: “depressive” (Dep.), “emotionally overwhelmed” (Emot.), “conversive” (Conv.) and “Coper”. Differences in MPQ scales between personality profiles were investigated by means of a general linear model (GLM), adjusting for sex, age and pain level and type. Results of GLM analysis showed that the affective dimension was significantly higher in cluster Emot. than in Dep. ( p  = 0.027), Conv. ( p  = 0.002) and Coper ( p  = 0.003). Total PRI was significantly higher in Emot. than in Conv. ( p  = 0.010). The findings of the present study suggest that a specific personality profile (Emot.), characterized by a heavy emotional burden, may increase the affective dimension of pain with respect to a depressive profile (Dep.), a conversive profile (Conv.) or a normal profile (Coper), independent of sex, age and pain level and type.