Strategies for coping with chronic low back pain: relationship to pain and disability

Seventy-four chronic low back pain patients in a study assessing the effectiveness of group outpatient cognitive-behavioral and operant behavioral treatment completed the Coping Strategy Questionnaire (CSQ) and measures of pain, depression, and functional disability pre- and post-treatment. The previously reported factor structure of the CSQ was generally replicated, and significant associations were found between use of ignoring and reinterpretation strategies and downtime, between use of attention diversion strategies and pain intensity, and between tendency to catastrophize and physical and psychosocial impairment. Both treatments resulted in significant changes in types of coping strategies used to deal with pain. Increased use of praying and hoping strategies was significantly related to decreases in pain intensity. Decreased catastrophizing was also significantly related to decreases in pain intensity, as well as to decreases in physical and psychosocial impairment.