title: Psychological covariates of longitudinal changes in back-related disability in patients undergoing acupuncture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify psychological covariates of longitudinal changes in back-related disability in patients undergoing acupuncture.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal postal questionnaire study was conducted with data collection at baseline (pretreatment), 2 weeks, 3, and 6 months later. A total of 485 patients were recruited from 83 acupuncturists before commencing acupuncture for back pain. Questionnaires measured variables from 4 theories (fear-avoidance model, common-sense model, expectancy theory, social-cognitive theory), clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, and disability. Longitudinal multilevel models were constructed with disability over time as the outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within individuals, reductions in disability (compared with the person's individual mean) were associated with reductions in: fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity (β=0.11, P<0.01) and work (β=0.03, P<0.05), catastrophizing (β=0.28, P<0.05), consequences (β=0.28, P<0.01), concerns (β=0.17, P<0.05), emotions (β=0.16, P<0.05), and pain identity (β=0.43, P<0.01). Within-person reductions in disability were associated with increases in: personal control (β=-0.17, P<0.01), comprehension (β=-0.11, P<0.05) and self-efficacy for coping (β=-0.04, P<0.01). Between individuals, people who were less disabled had weaker fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity (β=0.12, P<0.01), had more self-efficacy for coping (β=-0.07, P<0.01), perceived less severe consequences of back pain (β=0.87, P<0.01), had more positive outcome expectancies (β=-0.30, P<0.05), and appraised acupuncture appointments as less convenient (β=0.92, P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Illness perceptions and, to a lesser extent, self-efficacy and expectancies can usefully supplement variables from the fear-avoidance model in theorizing pain-related disability. Positive changes in patients' beliefs about back pain might underpin the large nonspecific effects of acupuncture seen in trials and could be targeted clinically.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Psychology †School of Mathematics ‡MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit §School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Felicity L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yardley
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prescott
authors.forename: Cyrus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: George T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Lewith
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D058443:Catastrophization / Q000523:psychology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome