The Role of Pain in the Cascade from Chronic Illness to Social Disability and Psychological Distress in Late Life

Pain has been viewed as an important concomitant of late-life illness that can threaten the quality of life of older adults. In considering linkages between chronic physical illness and psychological distress in late life, the associations between reporting of pain and indices of depression have been extensively studied (Parmelee, 1994; Romano & Turner, 1985). Nevertheless, the role of pain in mediating the effects of ill health on functioning and psychological well-being has seldom been considered in a more comprehensive framework. Such a framework could organize our understanding of the biopsychosocial and ecological context of pain and consider its sequelae for both social and psychological well-being (Kahana & Kahana, 1996).