Impact of Different Illness Perceptions and Emotions Associated with Chronic Back Pain on Anxiety and Depression in Patients Qualified for Surgery

Anxiety and depression are known comorbidities of chronic back pain. Their psychological predictors are not well established in patients with chronic back pain qualified for neurosurgery. The purpose of this study was to determine the psychological predictors of depression and anxiety in patients with chronic back pain qualified for surgery. This was a cross-sectional study. A neurosurgical ward in Gdańsk, Poland. All patients who were admitted to the neurosurgical ward and met the inclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Finally, 83 patients with chronic back pain waiting for surgery were recruited. A battery of questionnaires, including Illness Perceptions Questionnaire–Revised, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Brief Pain Inventory, was used in 83 spinal surgery candidates. Higher anxiety was predicted by stronger beliefs about negative consequences of illness (β = .205, p