Comparison of MMPI Scores with Self-Report of Sleep Disturbance and Bruxism in the Facial Pain Population

ABSTRACT

Sleep disturbance and bruxism are common clinical characteristics of the chronic facial pain patient. Previous studies have shown that chronic pain patients reporting disturbed sleep show more psychopathology and respond less readily to treatment. Bruxism has been linked to emotional stress and periods of difficult life change. The present study explored the question of whether sleep disturbance or bruxism are useful predictors of psychopathology in the facial pain population. Psychopathology was measured by using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). It was predicted that facial pain patients who reported sleep disturbance or bruxism would correlate with more elevated scores on the MMPI profiles. The results of the study revealed a strong association between self-report of disturbed sleep and higher MMPI scores. No difference between the MMPI scores of bruxers and non-bruxers was found. It was concluded that sleep disturbance may be an effective predictor of psychological disturbance within the facial pain population, while bruxism was not found to be associated with psychological disturbance as measured by the MMPI.

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Notes on contributors

Dennis M. Harness

Dr. Dennis M. Harness is an assistant professor of diagnostic science at the University of the Pacific Dental School in San Francisco, California. His educational background includes a master's degree in behavioral medicine from the University of the Pacific and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology. He has been the attending behavioral medicine therapist at the Facial Pain Research Center at the University of the Pacific Dental School for the past nine years.

Bruce Peltier

Dr. Bruce Peltier is a graduate of West Point. He received his Ph.D. from Wayne State University in 1979. He served two years as a research assistant at Stanford University and took a post-doctoral internship at the University of Southern California. He recently served as president of the San Francisco Academy of Hypnosis. He is an associate professor of psychology at the University of the Pacific Dental School in San Francisco. California, and a lecturer at the University of San Francisco.