BACKGROUND In pain conditions, active coping has been found to be associated with less severe depression, increased activity level and less functional impairment. Studies indicate that there is a high expectation for chronic disability following a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. The objective of this study was to compare both the expectations and the coping style for rheumatoid arthritis in disease-naïve subjects. METHODS The Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory was administered to university students. Subjects who had not yet experienced rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and did not know a person with RA were given a vignette concerning a new onset diagnosis of RA and were asked to indicate how likely they were to have thoughts or behaviours indicated in the coping style questionnaire. Subjects also completed expectations regarding daily functioning according to the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) for RA. RESULTS The mean active coping style score for RA was 27.3 ± 4.6 (40 is the maximum score for active coping). The mean passive coping style score was 26.2 ± 7.0 (50 is the maximum score for passive coping). Those with high passive coping styles had a higher mean expectation score (higher HAQ score) of disability from rheumatoid arthritis. The correlation between passive coping style score and expectation score was 0.48, while the correlation between active coping style score and expectation was -0.34. CONCLUSIONS Both expectations and coping styles may interact or be co-modifiers in the outcomes of RA patients. Further studies of coping styles and expectations in RA are required.