Papers of the Week

Implicit theories of pain represent a socio-cognitive mechanism linked to important coping, emotional, and expressive reactions to chronic pain. Evidence suggests that chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients who hold an incremental theory of pain (i.e. view pain as a malleable) use more active coping strategies, display less pain behavior, and report lower levels of depression than those with an entity theory of pain (i.e. view pain as a fixed). However, a link between implicit theories of pain and symptoms of pain and disability in people with CLBP has not been established.