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Katja Boersma

Position: Professor School/office: School of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences

Email: katja.boersma@oru.se

Phone: No number available

Room: L2641

Research subject

Psychology

Research environments

Center for Health and Medical Psychology (CHAMP)

About Katja Boersma

Background

Katja Boersma is Professor of Psychology and a member of the Center for Health and Medical Psychology (CHAMP). She received a masters in psychology from Groningen University (major in clinical-, minor in social psychology) in the Netherlands in 1998, and is a licensed psychologist in Sweden since 2001. She completed her PhD working at the behavioral medicine unit of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic at the University Hospital in Örebro and defended her doctoral thesis "Fear and avoidance in the development of a persistent musculoskeletal pain problems. Implications for secondary prevention” in 2005. She is employed at Örebro University since January 2007.

Research

Katja's main research interests concern the fields of health psychology and revolve around understanding the role of psychological processes in the experience of persistent pain and its potentially negative consequences. With diverse methodologies she studies the individual differences in for example emotional suffering, functional disability, overuse of prescription medication and sick leave. An overarching goal is to develop and improve upon methods for the prevention and treatment of chronic pain problems. Examples of current research projects and themes are:

1. Mental health and sick leave from a life course perspective - mapping trajectories from childhood to retirement age (IDA Work project);

2. Treatment development for patients with comorbid emotional and pain problems (Hybrid project);

3. Patient - doctor communication in the context of persistent pain;

4. Persistent pain and its impact on work- and participation from a life course perspective.

Education

Katja's main teaching responsibilities are within the psychology program at Örebro University. Current areas of teaching are health psychology (semester 8) and examination and supervision of masters theses (semester 10).

Active projects

Completed projects

Research groups

Psychology and Pain (CHAMP: PP)

Publications

Articles in journals

Golovchanova, N. , Zhao, X. , Flink, I. , Owiredua, C. & Boersma, K. (2025). Recurrent pain in older age: A cross-sectional network analysis of biopsychosocial-existential interactions. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 189. [BibTeX]
Summit, A. G. , Chen, C. , Pettersson, E. , Boersma, K. , D'Onofrio, B. M. , Lichtenstein, P. & Quinn, P. D. (2024). Preliminary Validation of a General Factor Model of Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions. Journal of Pain, 25 (8). [BibTeX]
Bauducco, S. , Boersma, K. & Gradisar, M. (2024). Sleepy and popular? The association between popularity, sleep duration, and insomnia in adolescents. Frontiers in Sleep, section Pediatric and Adolescent Sleep, 3. [BibTeX]
Abrahamsson, P. , Boersma, K. & Buhrman, M. (2024). To speak or not to speak? A secondary data analysis to further explore the context-insensitive avoidance scale. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 24 (1). [BibTeX]
Zetterberg, H. , Zhao, X. , Bergbom, S. , Golovchanova, N. , Flink, I. & Boersma, K. (2024). Understanding Work Ability in Employees with Pain and Stress-Related Ill-Health: An Explorative Network Analysis of Individual Characteristics and Psychosocial Work Environment. Journal of occupational rehabilitation. [BibTeX]
Chen, C. , Pettersson, E. , Summit, A. G. , Boersma, K. , Chang, Z. , Kuja-Halkola, R. , Lichtenstein, P. & Quinn, P. D. (2023). Chronic pain conditions and risk of suicidal behavior: a 10-year longitudinal co-twin control study. BMC Medicine, 21 (1). [BibTeX]
Zhao, X. , Boersma, K. , Gerdle, B. , Molander, P. & Hesser, H. (2023). Fear network and pain extent: Interplays among psychological constructs related to the fear-avoidance model. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 167. [BibTeX]
Åhlfeldt, D. A. , Vixner, L. , Stålnacke, B. , Boersma, K. , Löfgren, M. , Fischer, M. R. & Enthoven, P. (2023). Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of and Attitudes towards a Standardized Content Description of Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Programs for Patients with Chronic Pain-A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (9). [BibTeX]
Tillfors, M. , Van Zalk, N. , Boersma, K. & Anniko, M. (2023). Longitudinal links between adolescent social anxiety and depressive symptoms: stressful experiences at home, in school and with peers. Nordic Psychology. [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Evans, B. , Hellfeldt, K. , Andershed, H. & Boersma, K. (2023). Older and feeling unsafe? Differences in underlying vulnerability, anxiety and life satisfaction among older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 27 (8), 1636-1643. [BibTeX]
Owiredua, C. , Flink, I. & Boersma, K. (2023). Prevalence and risk factors for pain-specific school absenteeism in adolescents with recurrent pain: A prospective population-based design. European Journal of Pain, 27 (3), 390-400. [BibTeX]
Zetterberg, H. , Owiredua, C. , Åsenlöf, P. , Lennartsson, R. , Brodda Jansen, G. , Boersma, K. , Linton, S. J. , Reme, S. E. & et al. (2023). Preventing Pain and Stress-Related Ill-Health in Employees: A 6-Months Follow-Up of a Psychosocial Program in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 33 (2), 316-328. [BibTeX]
Buhrman, M. , Tillfors, M. , Holländare, F. , Lekström, E. , Håkansson, A. & Boersma, K. (2023). Psychological treatment targeting acceptance and compassion in chronic pain patients: a randomized controlled, internet delivered, treatment trial. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 39 (12), 672-685. [BibTeX]
Elvén, M. , Boersma, K. & Overmeer, T. (2022). Assessing clinical reasoning in physical therapy: discriminative validity of the Reasoning 4 Change instrument. Physiotherapy, 117, 8-15. [BibTeX]
Bartels, S. L. , Johnsson, S. I. , Boersma, K. , Flink, I. , McCracken, L. M. , Petersson, S. , Christie, H. L. , Feldman, I. & et al. (2022). Development, evaluation and implementation of a digital behavioural health treatment for chronic pain: study protocol of the multiphase DAHLIA project. BMJ Open, 12 (4). [BibTeX]
Fine, K. L. , Rickert, M. E. , O'Reilly, L. M. , Sujan, A. C. , Boersma, K. , Chang, Z. , Franck, J. , Lichtenstein, P. & et al. (2022). Initiation of Opioid Prescription and Risk of Suicidal Behavior Among Youth and Young Adults. Pediatrics, 149 (3). [BibTeX]
Glatz, T. , Bayram Özdemir, S. & Boersma, K. (2022). Parental Child-Invested Contingent Self-Esteem as a Source of Acculturation-Related Parent-Child Conflicts Among Latino Families. Journal of Family Issues, 43 (7), 1826-1849. [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Andershed, H. , Boersma, K. & Hellfeldt, K. (2022). Perceived reasons of unsafety among independently living older adults in Sweden. Nordic Journal of Criminology, 23 (1), 44-60. [BibTeX]
Van Alboom, M. , Elmer, T. , Boersma, K. , Forgeron, P. , Baert, F. , Bracke, P. & Goubert, L. (2022). Social integration of adolescents with chronic pain: a social network analysis. Pain, 163 (11), 2232-2244. [BibTeX]
Bauducco, S. , Özdemir, M. , Gradisar, M. , Boersma, K. & Bayram Özdemir, S. (2022). Trajectories of insomnia symptoms and insufficient sleep duration in early adolescents: associations with school stress. SLEEP Advances, 3 (1). [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Boersma, K. , Andershed, H. & Hellfeldt, K. (2021). Affective Fear of Crime and Its Association with Depressive Feelings and Life Satisfaction in Advanced Age: Cognitive Emotion Regulation as a Moderator?. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (9). [BibTeX]
Bayram Özdemir, S. , Özdemir, M. & Boersma, K. (2021). How Does Adolescents' Openness to Diversity Change Over Time? The Role of Majority-Minority Friendship, Friends' Views, and Classroom Social Context. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50 (1), 75-88. [BibTeX]
Svanberg, M. , Stålnacke, B. , Quinn, P. D. & Boersma, K. (2021). Opioid Prescriptions in Chronic Pain Rehabilitation: A Prospective Study on the Prevalence and Association between Individual Patient Characteristics and Opioids. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10 (10). [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Owiredua, C. , Boersma, K. , Andershed, H. & Hellfeldt, K. (2021). Presence of Meaning in Life in Older Men and Women: The Role of Dimensions of Frailty and Social Support. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. [BibTeX]
Quinn, P. D. , Fine, K. L. , Rickert, M. E. , Sujan, A. , Boersma, K. , Chang, Z. , Franck, J. , Lichtenstein, P. & et al. (2020). Association of Opioid Prescription Initiation during Adolescence and Young Adulthood with Subsequent Substance-Related Morbidity. JAMA pediatrics, 174 (11), 1048-1055. [BibTeX]
Larsson, A. & Boersma, K. (2020). Historiskt perspektiv på ungas psykiska ohälsa: Medicinsk diskurs och självskattad hälsa under 1970- och 2010-talen. Socialmedicinsk Tidskrift, 97 (5-6), 743-759. [BibTeX]
Gerdle, B. , Boersma, K. , Åsenlöf, P. , Stålnacke, B. , Larsson, B. & Ringqvist, Å. (2020). Influences of Sex, Education, and Country of Birth on Clinical Presentations and Overall Outcomes of Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation in Chronic Pain Patients: A Cohort Study from the Swedish Quality Registry for Pain Rehabilitation (SQRP). Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9 (8). [BibTeX]
Bauducco, S. & Boersma, K. (2020). Interventioner för att förebygga sömnbrist hos tonåringar: fokus på individ eller samhälle?. Socialmedicinsk Tidskrift, 97 (5-6), 866-877. [BibTeX]
Flink, I. , Reme, S. , Jacobsen, H. B. , Glombiewski, J. , Vlaeyen, J. W. S. , Nicholas, M. K. , Main, C. J. , Peters, M. & et al. (2020). Pain psychology in the 21st century: lessons learned and moving forward. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 20 (2), 229-238. [BibTeX]
Bauducco, S. , Flink, I. , Boersma, K. & Linton, S. J. (2020). Preventing sleep deficit in adolescents: Long-term effects of a quasi-experimental school-based intervention study. Journal of Sleep Research, 29 (1). [BibTeX]
Owiredua, C. , Flink, I. , Vixner, L. , Äng, B. O. , Tseli, E. & Boersma, K. (2020). The Context Matters: A Retrospective Analysis of Life Stage at Chronic Pain Onset in Relation to Pain Characteristics and Psychosocial Outcomes. Journal of Pain Research, 13, 2685-2695. [BibTeX]
Södermark, M. , Linton, S. J. , Hesser, H. , Flink, I. , Gerdle, B. & Boersma, K. (2020). What Works? Processes of Change in a Transdiagnostic Exposure Treatment for Patients with Chronic Pain and Emotional Problems. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 36 (9), 648-657. [BibTeX]
Mazzer, K. , Boersma, K. & Linton, S. J. (2019). A longitudinal view of rumination, poor sleep and psychological distress in adolescents. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 686-696. [BibTeX]
Quinn, P. D. , Rickert, M. E. , Franck, J. , Sariaslan, A. , Boersma, K. , Lichtenstein, P. , Larsson, H. & DʼOnofrio, B. M. (2019). Associations of mental health and family background with opioid analgesic therapy: a nationwide Swedish register-based study. Pain, 160 (11), 2464-2472. [BibTeX]
Bauducco, S. , Salihovic, S. & Boersma, K. (2019). Bidirectional associations between adolescents’ sleep problems and impulsive behavior over time. Sleep Medicine, 1. [BibTeX]
Boersma, K. , Flink, I. & Linton, S. J. (2019). Considering the interpersonal context of pain catastrophizing. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 20 (1), 9-10. [BibTeX]
Svanberg, M. , Johansson, A. & Boersma, K. (2019). Does validation and alliance during the multimodal investigation affect patients' acceptance of chronic pain?: An experimental single case study. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 19 (1), 73-82. [BibTeX]
Boersma, K. , Södermark, M. , Hesser, H. , Flink, I. , Gerdle, B. & Linton, S. J. (2019). Efficacy of a transdiagnostic emotion-focused exposure treatment for chronic pain patients with comorbid anxiety and depression: a randomized controlled trial. Pain, 160 (8), 1708-1718. [BibTeX]
Flink, I. , Boersma, K. , Klein-Strandberg, E. & Linton, S. J. (2019). Responding to social cues: An experimental paradigm exploring the link between context sensitivity and pain. British Journal of Health Psychology, 24 (2), 443-459. [BibTeX]
Anniko, M. , Boersma, K. & Tillfors, M. (2019). Sources of stress and worry in the development of stress-related mental health problems: A longitudinal investigation from early- to mid-adolescence. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 32 (2), 155-167. [BibTeX]
Gerdle, B. , Åkerblom, S. , Stålnacke, B. , Jansen, G. B. , Enthoven, P. , Ernberg, M. , Dong, H. , Äng, B. O. & et al. (2019). The importance of emotional distress, cognitive behavioural factors and pain for life impact at baseline and for outcomes after rehabilitation - a SQRP study of more than 20,000 chronic pain patients. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 19 (4), 693-711. [BibTeX]
Gerdle, B. , Åkerblom, S. , Jansen, G. B. , Enthoven, P. , Ernberg, M. , Dong, H. , Stålnacke, B. , Äng, B. O. & et al. (2019). Who benefits from multimodal rehabilitation - an exploration of pain, psychological distress, and life impacts in over 35,000 chronic pain patients identified in the Swedish Quality Registry for Pain Rehabilitation. Journal of Pain Research, 12, 891-908. [BibTeX]

Articles, reviews/surveys

Boersma, K. & Flink, I. K. (2025). Key aspects concerning the role of emotion in the chronic pain experience. Current Opinion in Psychology, 62. [BibTeX]
Pontén, M. , Jonsjö, M. , Vadenmark, V. , Moberg, E. , Grannas, D. , Andersson, G. , Boersma, K. , Hedman-Lagerlöf, E. & et al. (2024). Association between expectations and clinical outcomes in online v. face-to-face therapy: an individual participant data meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 54 (6), 1207-1214. [BibTeX]
Bartels, S. L. , Taygar, A. S. , Johnsson, S. I. , Petersson, S. , Flink, I. , Boersma, K. , McCracken, L. M. & Wicksell, R. K. (2023). Using Personas in the development of eHealth interventions for chronic pain: A scoping review and narrative synthesis. Internet Interventions, 32. [BibTeX]
Grooten, W. J. A. , Tseli, E. , Äng, B. O. , Boersma, K. , Stålnacke, B. , Gerdle, B. & Enthoven, P. (2019). Elaborating on the assessment of the risk of bias in prognostic studies in pain rehabilitation using QUIPS—aspects of interrater agreement. Diagnostic and Prognostic Research, 3. [BibTeX]

Chapters in books

Flink, I. , Boersma, K. & Linton, S. J. (2021). Kognitiv beteendeterapi. In: Emmanuel Bäckryd; Mads U. Werner, Långvarig smärta: Smärtmedicin Vol 2 (pp. 293-299). . Liber. [BibTeX]

Conference papers

Golovchanova, N. , Zhao, X. , Flink, I. , Owiredua, C. & Boersma, K. (2024). Living with interfering chronic pain in older age: a network analysis study of biopsychosocial-existential interactions. Paper presented at 27th Nordic Congress of Gerontology, Stockholm, Sweden, June 12-14, 2024. [BibTeX]
Chen, C. , Pettersson, E. , Summit, A. , Boersma, K. , Chang, Z. , Kuja-Halkola, R. , Lichtenstein, P. & Quinn, P. (2022). Chronic Pain Conditions and Risk of Suicidal Behavior: A 10-Year Longitudinal Co-twin Control Study. In: Behavior Genetics. Paper presented at 51st Annual Meeting of the Behavior-Genetics-Association (BGA), Los Angeles, CA, USA, June 22-25, 2022. (pp. 351-351). Springer. [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Evans, B. , Hellfeldt, K. , Andershed, H. & Boersma, K. (2022). Vulnerability for perceived unsafety among older adults: A latent profile analysis. Paper presented at 26th Nordic Congress of Gerontology (26NKG), Odense, Denmark, June 8-10, 2022. [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Boersma, K. , Andershed, H. & Hellfeldt, K. (2021). Affective fear of crime and its associations with depressive feelings and life satisfaction in older adults: Cognitive emotion regulation as a moderator?. In: The Stockholm Criminology Symposium Program & Abstracts. Paper presented at The Stockholm Criminology Symposium, Stockholm, Sweden, June 15-16, 2021. (pp. 29-29). The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Andershed, H. , Boersma, K. & Hellfeldt, K. (2021). Feelings of unsafety and well-being in advanced age. Paper presented at 25th Nordic Gerontology Congress, Reykjavik, Iceland, (Virtual Congress), June 2-4, 2021. [BibTeX]
Golovchanova, N. , Owiredua, C. , Boersma, K. , Andershed, H. & Hellfeldt, K. (2021). Presence Of Meaning In Older Men And Women: The Role Of Frailty Dimensions And Social Support. Paper presented at SWEAH (The Swedish National Graduate School for Competitive Science on Ageing and Health) Milestone Conference, Lund university, Lund, Sweden, Online conference, October 19-20, 2021. [BibTeX]
Bauducco, S. , Bayram Özdemir, S. , Özdemir, M. & Boersma, K. (2019). Adolescents' sleep trajectories over time: school stress as a potential risk factor for the development of chronic sleep problems. In: Sleep Medicine. Elsevier. [BibTeX]
Quinn, P. , Rickert, M. , Boersma, K. , Lichtenstein, P. , Larsson, H. & D'Onofrio, B. (2019). Prescription opioid analgesic receipt among adolescents and young adults and subsequent substance abuse. In: Behavior Genetics. Paper presented at 49th Annual Meeting of the Behavior-Genetics-Association (BGA), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, June 26-29, 2019. (pp. 538-538). Springer. [BibTeX]

Manuscripts

Golovchanova, N. , Evans, B. , Hellfeldt, K. , Andershed, H. & Boersma, K. Older and feeling unsafe? Differences in underlying vulnerability, anxiety, and life satisfaction among older adults. [BibTeX]
Owiredua, C. , Evans, B. , Flink, I. & Boersma, K. Trajectories of school absenteeism in adolescents with recurrent pain : Predictors and distal outcomes. [BibTeX]