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The following is a summary of “Pathways to Growth in Chronic Pain: Understanding Mechanisms of Posttraumatic Growth in Racial Minorities,” published in the March 2025 issue of Journal of Pain by Kim et al. 

Chronic pain was a widespread traumatic experience often linked to psychological disorders, posing significant healthcare challenges, especially for racial minorities facing greater disparities.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the mechanism of experiencing posttraumatic growth (PTG) through rumination and the interaction between event centrality (EC) and core belief (CB) disruption among racial minorities with chronic pain.  

They recruited 622 adults with chronic pain, including 253 Black, 173 Asian, and 196 Latinx individuals, through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The study analyzed pathways to PTG and examined the interaction between EC and CB disruption on rumination and PTG while controlling for demographic factors.  

The results showed significant indirect effects for Black and Latinx adults. The moderation effect of EC and CB disruption on PTG was significant among Asian individuals (β = 0.20, 95% CI [0.08, 0.42]). However, no significant effect on PTG was observed among Black (β = -0.07, 95% CI [-0.19, 0.03]) and Latinx (β = 0.01, 95% CI [-0.11, 0.20]) individuals.  

Investigators concluded that findings underscored the importance of evaluating traumatic event processing and the impact of EC and CB disruptions on PTG among ethno-racial minority groups, contributing to the PTG model for individuals with chronic pain and guiding culturally tailored interventions. 

Source: jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(25)00608-X/abstract