• David E Reed, Melissa A Day, Alexandra Ferreira-Valente, and Mark P Jensen.
• Department of Health Systems and Population Health, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
• Pain Med. 2024 Aug 27.

ObjectiveChronic pain is a global health concern and often interferes with multiple aspects of individuals' lives (e.g., physical activities), diminishing one's ability to engage in activities that promote meaning in life. However, it is not well understood how believing that one can live a meaningful life despite pain may contribute to improved function among individuals with chronic pain. The aim of the current study was to better understand the role that belief in living a meaningful life despite pain may have in adjustment to chronic pain.MethodsParticipants (N = 164) were individuals with chronic pain who completed baseline data from two closely related randomized clinical trials. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the hypotheses that one's belief in living a meaningful life despite pain will be associated with function (pain interference and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety) and that the belief in living a meaningful life despite pain would moderate the associations between pain intensity and function.ResultsBelief in living a meaningful life despite pain was significantly associated with less pain interference and less severe symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, supporting the potential role of this variable in adaptive adjustment to chronic pain. However, one's belief in living a meaningful life despite pain did not moderate the associations between pain intensity and function.ConclusionsResults provide important theoretical and clinical information about how believing that one can live a meaningful life despite pain may serve as an important process for adjustment to chronic pain.© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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