Chronic pain is a multi-faceted, pervasive condition associated with significant psychosocial impairment. Positive psychological interventions (PPIs) are increasingly delivered in clinical settings, with recent research offering evidence supporting the application of PPIs in predominantly mental-health contexts. To date, no review has considered the impact of PPIs applied in physical-health settings. The aim of this systematic review is to collate the available evidence and identify

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... factors that can be improved via PPIs for individuals with chronic non-cancer pain. Particularly, the review focuses upon study outcomes considered to be conceptually-aligned with the aims of such interventions. A systematic search of five electronic databases was conducted utilising terms relating to chronic pain, positive psychological constructs and intervention outcomes. A total of 3289 articles were considered as part of Int J Appl Posit Psychol (2016) 1:133-157 the identification process. Eight studies were included in the final review upon deduplication and application of the review exclusion criteria. The effects of PPIs and methodological quality of studies varied greatly, though improvements in psychological well-being, hope, pain self-efficacy, happiness and life-satisfaction were evident. The results demonstrate PPIs can have beneficial effects for individuals living with chronic non-cancer pain. Methodological limitations, clinical implications and recommendations regarding future research are discussed.