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Objectives Patients with chronic back pain encounter considerable psychological and social challenges. In particular, the ever-evolving relationship between chronic back pain, sense of self-efficacy, and perceived role in interpersonal relationships merits further investigation. Methods We conducted in-person semi-structured interviews with 20 adult patients attending a specialized interventional spine pain clinic. The interview transcripts were subjected to inductive thematic analysis, and themes were labeled descriptively. Participant responses were intentionally not analyzed within the context of an existing theoretical framework, so that the content of participant responses would directly drive the emphasis of the findings. Results Participants described chronic back pain as a lonely struggle amid diminished capacity to work, enjoy leisure time, and contribute to social relationships. Feelings of needing to handle pain independently contrasted with the reality of having to rely on others for help, and this tension was a source of anxiety. Discussion The experience of chronic back pain was characterized by a conflict between the desire for self-efficacy, a sense of isolation, and the paradoxical need to rely on others. Interventions that allow patients to navigate this struggle by seeking help for their diminished capability, while retaining a sense of autonomy and self-worth, are indicated.

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Although there have been a number of studies that compared the test results of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT), none had been accomplished with a group of college-aged learning disabled students. Indeed, few researchers had investigated populations over 16 years of age, and none had compared grade scores and standard scores with appropriate subtest scores as derived from these two instruments. With the recent emphasis on postsecondary education for the learning disabled, it is deemed critical that researchers should develop a data base for study of this population. The current research demonstrated that although both tests purport to measure academic achievement in reading, spelling, and arithmetic, in reality, significantly different scores are derived when WRAT (1965WRAT ( , 1978 norms are compared to PIAT (1970) norms as stated in grade scores and standard scores. These significant differences in the grade and standard scores clearly indicate that the WRAT and the PIAT, particularly in regard to arithmetic and to a lesser degree to reading, are not interchangeable instruments of academic achievement.