Response means and frequency of True (‘True’ or ‘Possibly True’ responses) for individual Back Pain Attitudes Questionnaire (Back-PAQ) items
| Item | Mean (SD)* | Percentage True (95% CI)† | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Your back is one of the strongest parts of your body | 4.0 (1.3) | 76.0 (72.4 to 79.4) | 596 |
| 2. Your back is well designed for the way you use it in daily life | 4.1 (1.2) | 77.8 (74.2 to 81.1) | 590 |
| 3. Bending your back is good for it | 3.5 (1.4) | 59.3 (55.2 to 63.3) | 589 |
| 4. Sitting is bad for your back | 2.9 (1.4) | 42.7 (38.6 to 46.8) | 588 |
| 5. Lifting without bending your knees is not safe for your back | 4.7 (0.9) | 93.5 (91.2 to 95.3) | 598 |
| 6. It is easy to injure your back | 4.5 (0.9) | 89.3 (86.5 to 91.6) | 597 |
| 7. It is important to have strong muscles to support your back | 4.8 (0.6) | 96.5 (94.7 to 97.8) | 596 |
| 8. Good posture is important to protect your back | 4.9 (0.4) | 98.7 (97.4 to 99.4) | 598 |
| 9. If you overuse your back, it will wear out | 3.3 (1.5) | 51.8 (47.8 to 55.9) | 598 |
| 10. If an activity or movement causes back pain, you should avoid it in the future | 3.5 (1.4) | 58.9 (54.8 to 62.9) | 594 |
| 11. You could injure your back if you are not careful | 4.7 (0.7) | 94.9 (92.8 to 96.6) | 592 |
| 12. You can injure your back and only become aware of the injury some time later | 4.3 (1.1) | 83.9 (80.8 to 86.8) | 598 |
| 13. Back pain means that you have injured your back | 3.3 (1.3) | 56.5 (52.4 to 60.5) | 598 |
| 14. A twinge in your back can be the first sign of a serious injury | 3.6 (1.1) | 63.9 (59.9 to 67.7) | 598 |
| 15. Thoughts and feelings can influence the intensity of back pain | 3.5 (1.4) | 58.2 (54.1 to 62.2) | 596 |
| 16. Stress in your life (financial, work, relationship) can make back pain worse | 3.6 (1.4) | 63.6 (59.6 to 67.5) | 596 |
| 17. When you have back pain, you can do things which increase your pain without harming the back | 3.0 (1.3) | 39.4 (35.5 to 43.5) | 596 |
| 18. Having back pain makes it difficult to enjoy life | 4.6 (0.8) | 94.1 (91.9 to 95.9) | 595 |
| 19. It is worse to have pain in your back than your arms or legs | 4.0 (1.2) | 72.1 (68.3 to 75.7) | 595 |
| 20. It is hard to understand what back pain is like if you have never had it | 4.5 (0.8) | 92.9 (90.5 to 94.8) | 592 |
| 21. If your back hurts, you should take it easy until the pain goes away | 3.7 (1.3) | 69.3 (65.4 to 73.0) | 590 |
| 22. If you ignore back pain, you may cause damage to your back | 4.4 (0.9) | 89.3 (86.5 to 91.7) | 598 |
| 23. It is important to see a health professional when you have back pain | 4.3 (1.0) | 84.8 (81.7 to 87.6) | 593 |
| 24. To effectively treat back pain, you need to know exactly what is wrong | 4.4 (1.0) | 86.2 (83.2 to 88.9) | 594 |
| 25. If you have back pain you should avoid exercise | 2.4 (1.3) | 24.9 (21.4 to 28.6) | 595 |
| 26. When you have back pain the risks of vigorous exercise outweigh the benefits | 3.6 (1.3) | 55.1 (51.0 to 59.2) | 593 |
| 27. If you have back pain you should try to stay active | 4.2 (1.0) | 80.0 (76.6 to 83.1) | 595 |
| 28. Most back pain settles quickly, at least enough to get on with normal activities | 3.7 (1.2) | 63.9 (59.9 to 67.8) | 593 |
| 29. Worrying about your back can delay recovery from back pain | 3.4 (1.3) | 54.3 (50.2 to 58.3) | 597 |
| 30. Focusing on things other than the back helps you to recover from back pain | 3.4 (1.3) | 55.5 (51.4 to 59.6) | 596 |
| 31. Expecting your back pain to get better helps you to recover from back pain | 3.3 (1.4) | 52.4 (48.3 to 56.5) | 595 |
| 32. Once you have had back pain there is always a weakness | 3.3 (1.3) | 51.8 (47.7 to 55.8) | 597 |
| 33. There is a high chance that an episode of back pain will not resolve | 3.2 (1.3) | 43.5 (39.4 to 47.5) | 596 |
| 34. Once you have a back problem, there is not a lot you can do about it | 2.0 (1.3) | 15.9 (13.1 to 19.1) | 596 |
*1.0=‘False’, 3.0=‘Unsure’, 5.0=‘True’; these are raw scores which have not been adjusted for question direction.
†Combined ‘True’ and ‘Possibly True’ responses.