Prediction of the severity of migraine headaches based on anixiety, defense medchanisms and self-compassion on patients with migrane headaches

Theoretical foundations and conducted studies are indicative of the effect of physiological factors on the incidence and exacerbation of migraine. Identification of these factors can play a major role in the treatment and prognosis of this disease. Therefore, the present study aims to predict the severity of migraine headaches based on anxiety, defense mechanism, and self-compassion. To this end, a total of 200 patients with migraine headaches visiting neurology clinics in Shiraz were selected using purposeful sampling. The patients were then asked to fill out the Spielberg State-Trait questionnaire(1970), Najjarian Migraine Symptom Severity questionnaire(1997), and Bond Defense style questionnaire (1983), and  Neff Self-Compassion scale(2003). The results of correlation and step by step regression analysis showed that there was a relationship between anxiety, defense styles, and self-compassion with the severity of migraine headaches(P<0/01). The results also showed that anxiety, defense styles, and self-compassion predicted 0/19, 0/14, and 0/16 of severe migraine headaches.