Pain resilience moderates the influence of negative pain beliefs on movement-evoked pain in older adults

Negative pain beliefs are associated with adverse pain outcomes; however, less is known regarding how positive, adaptive factors influence pain and functioning. These relationships are especially important to examine in older adults with pain, given increased disability and functional limitations in this population. We investigated whether pain resilience moderated the relationships between negative pain beliefs (fear-avoidance, pain catastrophizing) and pain outcomes (functional performance, movement-evoked pain) in sixty older adults with low back pain. Higher pain resilience was associated with lower fear-avoidance (p < .05) and pain catastrophizing (p = .05). After controlling for demographic variables, higher fear-avoidance (p = .03) and catastrophizing (p = .03) were associated with greater movement-evoked pain in individuals with low pain resilience, but not among those high in resilience. No significant moderation effects were observed for functional performance. Resilience may attenuate the relationship between negative psychological processes and pain-related disability, highlighting the need for interventions that enhance pain resilience in older adults.