Pain Catastrophizing Related to Psychological Inflexibility, Self-Reported Injuries and Perfectionism in Soccer Referees

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze how psychological flexibility, perfectionism, and reported injuries are related to pain catastrophizing in soccer referees. Methods: Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Data were collected online from 199 soccer referees. Pain catastrophizing was assessed with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, psychological inflexibility with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and perfectionism with the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Data were also gathered on other injury-related variables. Results: Referees with medium–high scores on psychological inflexibility showed greater pain catastrophizing (t = 5.322, P < 0.001), rumination (t = 4.004, P < 0.001), helplessness (t = 5.023, P < 0.001) and magnification (t = 5.590, P < 0.001) than those with low scores. Psychological inflexibility emerged as a significant predictor of catastrophizing (β = 0.313, P = 0.006). A slight relationship was found between perfectionism and catastrophizing. For all subscales, the referees who reported mild–moderate injuries in the last three seasons showed greater pain catastrophizing, while those with severe injuries obtained higher scores on all dimensions of catastrophizing except magnification. Finally, those who reported severe injuries only obtained higher scores on rumination and helplessness. Conclusion: These results provide a better understanding of the variables that influence pain perception. Possible interventions are suggested based on the observation that greater psychological flexibility was associated with lower pain catastrophizing, with the specific features of the latter depending on the presence and severity of the injury.