Undergoing painful medical procedures can be more, not less, painful when a romantic partner is present, according to the "surprising" findings of a new study.
Dr Katerina Fotopoulou, of King’s College London, UK, says: "We were interested in the role of individuals’ patterns of seeking or avoiding closeness in their relationships.
"We wanted to test whether this personality construct, termed attachment style, might determine whether partner support decreases or heightens the experience of pain."
A total of 39 women took part in the study. They were given a moderately painful laser pulse on a finger and asked to rate their pain intensity. The electrical activity in their brains was also measured, to view the strength of the ‘spike’ after each laser pulse. Questionnaires were also completed on the extent to which each woman sought or avoided closeness, or emotional intimacy, in their relationship.
Results showed that pain was not reduced by having a partner present. In fact, the presence of a partner often made the pain feel worse – especially for the women who said they most avoided closeness.
This finding was backed up by both pain ratings and in their brain activity. For women who did seek closeness in their relationships, having a partner present had no significant effect either way on the pain they felt.
The study is published today (21 January) in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Dr Fotopoulou commented: "Overall, this study suggests that partner support during pain may need to be tailored to individual personality traits and coping preferences. Individuals who avoid closeness may find that the presence of others disrupts their preferred method of coping with threats on their own."
Krahe, C. et al. Attachment style moderates partner presence effects on pain: A laser-evoked potentials study. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 21 January 2015
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