Although the sample for this study consisted mostly of older Caucasian females, there were also participants from a variety of age groups, as well as educational and occupational backgrounds, who have had rheumatoid arthritis and pain for varying periods of time. Multidimensional scaling analysis yielded a point map with a stress value of 0.30. A 7-cluster solution was judged to provide the most concise and interpretable description of the themes underlying the dimensions of chronic pain. These themes were: (1) The impact of pain, (2) Doing less because of pain, (3) Learning to live with pain,