CONFERENCEhttps://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2026.12 | 196-210 | PDF
The Association Between Mindfulness and Pain Catastrophizing Among Migraine Patients
Elīza Šenberga1, Elīna Zelčāne1
1 Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia
Abstract
Objectives. Migraine is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders worldwide, affecting 14–15% of the global population and causing a substantial psychological burden, particularly when pain is catastrophized. This study examined the association between mindfulness and pain catastrophizing in migraine and assessed associations with age and differences by education and gender.
Methods. This cross-sectional correlational study included 324 participants with diagnosed migraine aged 18–68; 92.6% were women. Mindfulness (observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity) was measured using Baer et al.’s Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and pain catastrophizing was measured using Sullivan et al.’s Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Spearman’s correlation was used to examine associations, and Welch’s t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used for group comparisons.
Results. In the migraine sample, mindfulness was moderately negatively associated with pain catastrophizing (r = −0.32, p < 0.001). Associations differed across mindfulness facets. Describing (r = −0.24, p < 0.001), nonreactivity (r = −0.15, p < 0.01), and acting with awareness (r = −0.23, p < 0.001) showed weak negative associations; nonjudging showed the strongest moderate negative association (r = −0.39, p < 0.001), whereas observing showed a weak positive association (r = 0.12, p < 0.05). Age was weakly positively correlated with mindfulness (r = 0.26, p < 0.001). Women reported higher pain catastrophizing than men (t(26.19) = 4.00, p < 0.01, d = 0.88), whereas men scored slightly higher on mindfulness (t(34.30) = −2.33, p = 0.03, d = 0.38). These results should be interpreted cautiously due to the small male subsample. No differences in total scores by education level were found.
Conclusions. These findings support an association between mindfulness and pain catastrophizing in migraine, with facet-specific directions, and may inform non-pharmacological support, including psychological counselling, psychoeducation, and the cautious adaptation of mindfulness-based approaches.
Keywords: migraine, mindfulness, mindfulness facets, non-pharmacological support, pain catastrophizing
This article is based on the first author’s bachelor thesis “The relationship between mindfulness and pain catastrophizing among patients with migraine”, developed at Rīga Stradiņš University in 2026 under the supervision of the second author.
In: Human, Technologies and Quality of Education, 2026. Proceedings of Scientific Papers = Cilvēks, tehnoloģijas un izglītības kvalitāte, 2026. Rakstu krājums. Ed. L. Daniela. Riga: University of Latvia, 2026. 236 p.
ISBN 978-9934-36-685-7
https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2026