Identifying Psychosocial Risk Factors Associated with Increased Depression, Pain Intensity, and Disability Among College Students Suffering from Low Back Pain

Low back pain affects 45% of 17- to 22-year-olds and is a top health complaint among U.S. college students. We examined potential risk factors and found that pain catastrophizing increased depression and pain disability but not pain intensity. Back pain beliefs and coping flexibility did not impact outcome variables.