Do fear and catastrophizing about mental activities relate to fear-avoidance behavior in a community sample? An experimental study

Figures & data

Figure 1. The fear-avoidance model applied to post-concussion like symptoms

Figure 2. Design of the study: randomized cross-over within subject design

Note. RPQ = Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire; PSC-CS = Post-Concussion Catastrophizing Scale; FMA = Fear of Mental Activities Scale; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory-II revised; STAI = State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; ECG = Electrocardiogram.

Table 1. Personal characteristics (N = 80)

Characteristics	Values	Range
Sex, % female (n)	66.3 (53)
Mean age in years (SD)	30.5 (14.4)	18–64
Education level, % (n)		3–7
Low (level 4–5)	3.8 (3)
Medium (level 6–7)	50.0 (40)
High (level 8)	46.3 (37)
Mean hours spent on mental activities per day (SD)	7.1 (3.0)	1–13

Note. SD = Standard Deviation.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics of the fear-avoidance model in healthy adults (N = 80)

Variables	Mean (SD)	Range	%I
Post-concussion like symptoms (RPQ)	6.21 (6.10)	0–28	33.8
Catastrophizing (PCS-CS)	6.24 (5.63)	0–26	27.5
Fear-avoidance (FMA)	15.90 (3.81)	13–36	45.0
Depression (BDI)	5.24 (4.56)	0–21	16.3
Exposure to mental activity (inverse of “disuse”)	7.11 (3.04)	1–13	NA

Note. SD = Standard Deviation; %I = Percentage of participants with an impairment as defined by the cutoff scores (see Method section); RPQ = Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire; PCS-CS = Post-Concussion Symptom Catastrophizing Scale; FMA = Fear of Mental Activity Scale; BDI = Beck’s Depression Inventory; NA = Not applicable.

Figure 3. Spearman correlations of the fear-avoidance model

Note. BDI = Beck Depression Inventory-II revised; RPQ = Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire; PSC-CS = Post-Concussion Catastrophizing Scale; FMA = Fear of Mental Activities Scale.