Time perspective as a predictor of acute postsurgical pain and coping with pain following abdominal surgery

Background The aim of this study was to predict acute postsurgical pain and coping with pain following surgery based on preoperative time perspectives. Time perspective is a basic dimension of psychological time. It is a tendency to focus on a particular time area: the past, the present and the future. Method Seventy‐six patients completed measures of time perspective and pain 24 h before abdominal surgery. During the 3 days after surgery, measures of pain and coping with pain were completed. Results We performed hierarchical regression analyses to identify predictors of acute postsurgical pain and how patients cope with it. These analyses suggested that a preoperative past‐negative time perspective can be a predictor of postoperative pain level and catastrophizing after surgery. Conclusion The findings of our study indicate the importance of time perspective, especially the past perspective, in dealing with postoperative pain. Significance Our research indicates that a preoperative past‐negative time perspective is a significant predictor of acute postsurgical pain intensity and the strongest predictor of pain catastrophizing.