The relationship between self-efficacy and disability in chronic low back pain patients

This study examined the reliability of an adapted version of the Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale in a sample of 59 chronic low back pain patients. The present study also investigated the relationship between self- efficacy and measures of disability. Regression analyses indicated a significant negative relationship between self-efficacy and low back pain disability. That is, patients who report higher levels of self-efficacy have higher activity levels (R2 = 0.34, P < 0.01), work more hours (R2 = 0.25, P < 0.01), and have lower levels of psychological distress (R2 = 0.29, P < 0.01), pain severity (R2 = 0.46, P < 0.01), and pain behavior (R2 = 0.27, P < 0.01) after controlling for the demographic variables of gender, duration of back pain, and having a lawyer on retainer. The results support the use of the Back Pain Self-Efficacy Scale (BPSES) as a general measure of self- efficacy in the chronic low back pain population.