title: Toward a middle-range theory of adaptation to chronic pain.
abstract: Merton postulated that to significantly advance disciplinary knowledge, scholarship must include the development of middle-range theories that derive hypotheses, can be empirically investigated, and are linked to extant theories. The purpose of this paper is to present the strategies used to develop a middle-range nursing theory of adaptation to chronic pain based on Merton's description. Analysis and synthesis of the theoretical and research literature provided the foundational, theory-building strategies used to develop the adaptation to chronic pain model. Theoretical substruction was then used to deduce the adaptation to chronic pain model from Roy's adaptation model.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D016294:Models, Nursing; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009742:Nursing Theory; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology