Study of Affect Induction for Lab Induced Pain in Healthy Undergraduates

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test if a mindfulness-enhanced positive affect induction (MPAI) works well to reduce pain intensity and pain unpleasantness from a cold water pain test in undergraduate college students who do not endorse ongoing medical or mental health diagnoses. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Is the MPAI a feasible and acceptable psychological technique for managing brief pain?
* Does the MPAI work well to reduce pain intensity and unpleasantness from experimentally induced brief pain, compared to those using a breathing meditation or those instructed to respond naturally.
* Does using the MPAI work well to improve confidence in self-managing brief pain?

Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their sleep, pain beliefs, and emotions after consenting to participate and at the end of the study session. They will then be randomized to either:

* Use the MPAI for managing pain induced by a cold water test (placing their hand in a container of cold water kept at approximately 5 degrees Celsius).
* Use a breathing meditation for managing pain induced by a cold water test (placing their hand in a container of cold water kept at approximately 5 degrees Celsius).
* Respond naturally to pain induced by a cold water test (placing their hand in a container of cold water kept at approximately 5 degrees Celsius).

Researchers will compare the MPAI group to the breathing meditation and natural response groups to see if the MPAI group reports less pain from the cold water test and

Conditions

• Meditation
• Pain
• Mindfulness
• Affect
• Emotion Regulation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness-enhanced positive affect induction

Participants will receive brief psychoeducation about biopsychosocial pain management and practice with the MPAI via guided audio recording. They will then listen to the audio recording a final time before beginning the cold pressor test for experimental pain induction. They will be instructed to continue using the MPAI to manage pain during the cold pressor test.

BEHAVIORAL

Breathing Meditation

Participants will receive brief psychoeducation about biopsychosocial pain management and practice with the BM via guided audio recording. They will then listen to the audio recording a final time before beginning the cold pressor test for experimental pain induction. They will be instructed to continue using the BM to manage pain during the cold pressor test.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Colorado, Denver

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Dustin S Goerlitz, MA · University of Colorado, Denver

• Amy Wachholtz, PhD · University of Colorado, Denver

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-03-14

Primary Completion

2022-11-14

Completion

2022-11-14

Countries

• United States

Study Locations