ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Headache and Neurogenic Pain
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1566423
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Approaches to Neuralgia: Mechanisms and Treatment DevelopmentView all 17 articles
Self-esteem and Self-compassion Status of Migraine Patients in Turkey: A Multi-center Study by Turkish Headache Study Group
Provisionally accepted- 1Başkent University, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
- 2University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
- 3Hamidiye International Faculty of Medicine,University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Ankara, Türkiye
- 4Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Antalya, Türkiye
- 5Gazi University, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
- 6Prof. Dr. Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 7Ege University, Bornova, İzmir, Türkiye
- 8Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Manisa, Türkiye
- 9Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 10Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 11Istanbul University, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 12Adana City Training and Research Hospital, Ministry of Health (Turkey), Adana, Adana, Türkiye
- 13Bozok University, Yozgat, Yozgat, Türkiye
- 14Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Adana, Türkiye
- 15Dokuz Eylül University, Alsancak, İzmir, Türkiye
- 16Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
- 17Dışkapı Yildirim Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
- 18Akdeniz University, Antalya, Antalya, Türkiye
- 19Bursa Uludağ University, Bursa, Bursa, Türkiye
- 20İstanbul Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 21Istanbul Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Instanbul, Türkiye
- 22Bakırköy Dr.Sadi Konuk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 23Istanbul Aydın University, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 24İstanbul Training Research Hospital, İstanbul, Türkiye
- 25Şişli Etfal Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 26Çukurova University, Adana, Adana, Türkiye
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Migraine, characterized by recurrent attacks, often necessitates a holistic approach for effective management. Treatment strategies aimed at enhancing self-esteem and self-compassion have been shown to reduce pain intensity in patients with chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate self-esteem and self-compassion in individuals with migraine. This multicentre, cross-sectional, case-control study included migraine patients evaluated at headache-specialized outpatient clinics across 22 centers in different regions of Turkey. 901 migraine patients and 901 healthy, matched controls were included. Neurologists specializing in headache disorders administered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory to all participants. Data were compiled at a central site and subjected to statistical analysis.Migraine patients exhibited significantly lower self-esteem scores compared to healthy controls (p=0.001 for both). Additionally, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory scores were significantly higher in migraine patients (p=0.001for both). Although the mean self-compassion scores of migraine patients and healthy controls were comparable, a significant decline in self-compassion was observed among patients with higher migraine attack frequency.In conclusion, our findings indicate that migraine patients exhibit significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to healthy controls. Self-esteem scores were also found to be lower in the migraine group. Although self-compassion scores were similar between the two groups, a noteworthy decline in self-compassion was observed in patients with higher migraine attack frequency. These results suggest that increased migraine severity may negatively impact patients' emotional resilience, highlighting the potential value of integrating psychological support into migraine management, particularly for those with frequent attacks.
Keywords: Migraine, self-esteem, self-compassion, Depression, Anxiety
Received: 24 Jan 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Karakurum-Goksel, Ocal, Van, Coskun, Karaaslan, Ucler, Gokcay, Celebisoy, Sirin, Kisabay-Ak, Saritas, Cerrahoglu-Sirin, Hasirci-Bayir, Ekizoglu, Kocasoy-Orhan, Bayram, Tanik, Bicakci, Ozturk, Inan, Mehel-Metin, Eren, Dora, Oguz-Akarsu, Karli, Ur-Ozcelik, Atalar, Gozubatik-Celik, Mutluay, Ilgaz-Aydinlar, Yalınay-Dikmen, Semercioglu, Emre, Buldukoglu, Er, Kilboz, Ibis, Yagiz, Koklu, Kamaci, Aliyeva, Ates, Kara, Altunc, Kaya and Sisman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ruhsen Ocal, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.