Abstract
Numerous authors have suggested that cognitions play an important role in the development, maintenance, and treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, little evidence exists to support the association between cognitive variables and the CLBP problem. The present study examined the relationship of cognitive distortion, as measured by the Cognitive Error Questionnaire, to disability, as measured by the Sickness Impact Profile, in a sample of 138 CLBP patients. As predicted, cognitive distortion was consistently related to several aspects of disability. The cognitive variables accounted for variance in disability beyond that accounted for by severity of pain, number of pain treatments, and depression. Also as predicted, cognitive distortion concerning low back pain situations was more closely correlated with disability than was distortion concerning general, nonpain situations. Overgeneralization was the specific cognitive error most closely and consistently correlated with disability. The results are interpreted as consistent with a cognitive-behavioral model of CLBP.
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The authors would like to thank Holly Waldron, Dennis Turk, and several anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.
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Smith, T.W., Follick, M.J., Ahern, D.K. et al. Cognitive distortion and disability in chronic low back pain. Cogn Ther Res 10, 201–210 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173725
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173725