100 patients with chronic pain judged “problematic” by their referring physicians were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test–Revised. 38 obtained IQs of 85 or less while only 11 earned IQs of 101 or higher. While a number of confounds may have influenced these results, low intelligence appears to be a marker for negative treatment prognosis, at least as perceived by physicians, and its influence would seem to merit further investigation and clarification.
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