Engel's pain-prone disorder patient: 25 years after.

Engel's concept of pain proneness is reexamined. Child abuse issues, as they are presumed to influence pain proneness, are made explicit. Research literature related to pain proneness is reviewed. Its methodological shortcomings are discussed. Child abuse and child neglect literature was searched, but failed to reveal any association between child abuse and pain proneness. A broadly based research strategy is suggested to explore this association.