Pain caused by a work injury is a complex phenomenon comprising multiple factors, e.g. age, gender, prior health status, occupation, job demands, and severity of injury. Little research has focused on injured workers with chronic pain. This study investigates injured workers' pain coping.
A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to measure coping strategies of injured workers in a work rehabilitation program. Differences in coping strategies by demographics, injury-related variables, pain, disability, and depression were measured.
n = 479. The coping strategy with the highest mean score was "coping self statements" (Mean?=?19.4, SD?=?7.6), followed by "praying/hoping" (Mean?=?18.2, SD?=?9.7), and "catastrophizing" (Mean?=?17.5, SD?=?8.0). Statistical differences for coping strategies were noted between gender, marital status, depression levels, self-perceived disability levels, and pain (p