Abstract
The present study investigated whether dispositional self-handicapping (tendency to create or claim obstacles to performance in order to protect the self from negative attributions) predicts pain catastrophizing and self-reported pain. Based on the idea that exaggerated claims of pain provides a potential and an easy way to self-handicap, it was hypothesized that trait self-handicapping would be related to pain catastrophizing, which in turn, would be associated with higher levels of self-reported pain. A sample of undergraduate students (N=251) completed measures of self-handicapping, pain catastrophizing, and self-reported pain. It was found that self-handicapping was moderately associated with pain catastrophizing, accounting for 20% of the variance in pain catastrophizing. Furthermore, mediation analyses suggested that pain catastrophizing fully mediated the association between self-handicapping and pain.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 502-505 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Personality and Individual Differences |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Pain
- Pain catastrophizing
- Self-handicapping
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology