A population-based study of factors associated with combinations of active and passive coping with neck and low back pain

Pain coping strategies can be active or passive. Previous studies have examined these strategies separately, however individuals use combinations of both types of coping strategies. We examined the associations between socio-demographic, pain and health-related factors and combinations of active and passive strategies in a general population random sample of 1131 adults. Individuals reporting neck or low back pain during the past 6 months are the subjects of this report (n = 644). Multinomial logistic regression suggests that disabling pain was highly associated with passive coping regardless of active coping. Lower education was associated with the combination of low levels of active and high levels of passive coping. Individuals with better self-reported general health were less likely to use high levels of passive coping regardless of their active coping. We conclude that high levels of passive coping are strongly associated with disabling pain and that there is no evidence of an association between pain severity and active coping.