The Impact of Religious Music on Chronic Pain Perception

Abstract

One of the most debilitating conditions that currently exists is chronic pain. With the multitude of pain-related consequences that can be experienced, the biopsychosocial perspective examines the chronic pain experience using a multifactorial approach that examines all aspects of life impacted by the chronic pain experience (Gatchel et al., 2007). In examining aspects that have impacted the chronic pain experience, religion has been found to be a factor. Previous research has shown that religious practitioners experience a high likelihood of turning towards religion in an effort to seek an understanding regarding what is happening to them (Pargament & Raiya, 2007). With music being a common pain intervention, being able to choose what music to listen to has been found to be related to positive outcomes (Mitchell et al., 2007). For religious individuals, religious music has been found to be a coping mechanism in response to stressful situations (Safara & Samanesadatsadidpoor, 2014). The exact mechanism for the relationship is unknown, however, when both music and religion are important, the effect of music as a coping mechanism may be amplified (Hilliard, 2005). The main goal of this study is to examine how religious and non-religious music impacts the chronic pain experience. In addition, religion and the chronic pain experience will be examined. Participants were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) in order to gather an adult sample of individuals with pain. Statistical analyses found that individuals who scored high on measures of religiousness also reported listening to music that reminded them of their religion. It was also found that there is a strong cognitive associative context in which music is used for pain management. Implications from this research include providing resources for religious individuals experiencing chronic pain, best practices for studying religion in a psychological context, and tailoring non-pharmacological pain interventions.