According to a recent interpretation accompanied by the scientists of Heidelberg University and German Centre of Gerontology, well-being as well as individuals with pain found be significantly associated with subjective and psychological measures. 

Patients affected by nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP) usually report higher distress and reduced quality of life. However, CLBP patients demonstrated a remarkable heterogeneous group, and not all patients in this group reported compromised quality of life. The present study consequently reviewed this heterogeneity by distinguishing profiles of well-being and their correlates among 239 CLBP subjects. The patients were categorised into three groups as per two-step cluster analysis; cluster one (high well-being), cluster two (moderate well-being), and cluster three (continually low well-being).

The investigation involved several well-being indicators (depression, anxiety, affective distress, perceived control over life) to determine multidimensionality of subjective well-being. In-depth characterisation of the well-being profiles was assessed by pain-related measures, biographical factors, somatosensory profiles, sociodemographic indicators and psychosocial resources.

Three different well being profiles were identified on the basis of two step cluster analysis. These well being profiles were characterized by either generally high well-being, moderate well-being, or consistently low well-being. The cluster three exhibited the highest indicators of anxiety, affective distress and depression and lower levels of noted control over life. The weak to moderate effect size was reported between the derived well-being profiles regarding sociodemographic, psychosocial, and biographical measures  Although, larger effect sizes were noted for differences in pain intensity and subjective, but not objective, pain disability. Subsequently, the largest effects were found for differences in psychosocial resources. Instead of objective measure, subjective and psychological measures showed better association with well being, as per the study findings.