Psychopathology Amongst Acute and Chronic Patients with Occupationally Related Upper Limb Pain Versus Accident Injuries of the Upper Limbs

Abstract: Subjects included five groups of women: (a) acute patients with occupational upper limb pain, (b) chronic patients with occupational upper limb pain, (c) acute patients with accident injuries of the upper limbs, (d) chronic patients with accident injuries of the upper limbs, and (e) non‐injured keyboard operators. Psychopathology, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory; Spielberger State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory; and the personality characteristics of introversion‐extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, was assessed for each group. Groups were equivalent in terms of age and occupational status. The results provided no evidence of greater psychopathology amongst occupational upper limb pain patients compared with those with upper limb accident injuries. Anxiety levels were found to be higher for acute and chronic cases of both diagnostic categories compared to non‐injured controls. Depression levels were found to be higher for chronic cases of both diagnostic types compared with acute cases and non‐injured controls. There was no evidence of differences in personality characteristics between acute or chronic occupational, upper limb pain subjects compared to accident‐injured or non‐injured controls other than significantly lower extraversion scores for the chronic, accident‐injured patients compared to the chronic, occupational upper limb group. 1990 Australian Psychological Society