The Role of Personality Dimensions on a Hybrid Arts-based CBT-CP intervention for Patients with Non-malignant Chronic Pain: Preliminary Evidence from a Non-randomized Control Trial

Background: Optimal coping with chronic pain (CP) has a positive impact on minimizing the barriers to patients’ quality of life. Mindfulness-based approaches have been shown to improve emotional regulation and coping strategies in CP management, promoting a greater acceptance of pain and reducing psychological distress. Given that personality traits may influence the adjustment to chronic pain, this study aimed to investigate whether specific personality dimensions, based on Cloninger’s theory of temperament-character factors, affect the response to pain treatment in an innovative hybrid Arts-CBT intervention for patients with non-malignant CP. Methods: A pre-and-post research design was implemented. A total number of 100 outpatients at a University Pain Management Unit were asked to participate in either an Arts-CBT group intervention (50 patients) or a treatment as usual (TAU) control group (50 patients). All participants completed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Mental Pain Scale (MPS), the Tolerance for Mental Pain Scale (TMPS), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and the WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire. Pre-post measurements took place at baseline and at the end of the intervention, after a 10-week period. Results: The participants of the Arts-CBT intervention group had a higher score in the novelty seeking character dimension, while the TAU group was found to have higher scores in self-directedness and self-transcendence, at the baseline. The Arts-CBT group reported a lower loss of control and a higher belief in the ability to cope with pain after the intervention, compared with the control group. Self- transcendence was associated with patients’ quality of life, and it was found to be a significant predictor of average pain as well as patients’ belief in their ability to cope with pain. Conclusion: The current study provides practice-based evidence suggesting that a group Arts-CBT intervention is a promising treatment for non-malignant CP through the assessment and fostering of personality dimensions, particularly self-transcendence.