Predicting Pain Acceptance Based on Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies in individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis

The aim of this research was predicting pain acceptance based on perceived stress and coping strategies in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. The current research method was correlation. The statistical population was all patients with rheumatoid arthritis who referred to rheumatology centers of districts 2,3,5,6,7,18 of Tehran city in 1396 that 214 of them, based on the Kerjcie and Morgan table (1970) and using the available sampling method, were selected as statistical samples, but 210 patients remained as the final sample. The data for the research were collected through Perceived Stress Scale by Cohen, Kamarak and Mermelstein (1983), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Calsbeek, Mieke, Dekker, and Henegouwen (2002) and Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire by McCracken, Wolves and Eccleston (2004) and analyzed by using multiple regression method. The results showed that perceived stress (β=-0.13, p=0.001), emotion-oriented strategy (β=-0.16, p=0.001) and avoidant strategy (β=-0.21, p=0.001 negatively and significantly and problem-oriented strategy (β=0.58, p=0.001) positively and significantly can predict pain acceptance. Overall, the results showed that perceived stress and coping strategies can be used to control the pain of patients with rheumatoid arthritis