Benzodiazepine Use and Dependence in Relation to Chronic Pain Intensity and Pain Catastrophizing

•Findings extend limited prior work examining pain in relation to addiction-relevant BZD use patterns.•Pain intensity was positively associated with BZD dependence severity and likelihood of BZD misuse.•Pain catastrophizing accounted for variance in BZD use beyond that accounted for by pain intensity.•Fifty-six percentage of participants endorsed pain as a symptom for which they seek relief by taking BZDs.•Future research should elucidate mechanisms and temporal ordering in pain-BZD use relations.