Increasing evidence suggests a complex psychoneuroimmunoendocrine (PNIE) involvement in the aetiology of chronic intractable pain. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), a well validated 28 item screening instrument has been used primarily to dichotomize clinical/community populations as to the presence/absence of childhood maltreatment. A novel application for the CTQ is to use it as a predictor variable for psychophysiological correlates of relational early life stress (ELSr) – rather than for diagnostic/survey purposes. University-students (M/F:14/11, aged 19–35years) recruited for a pain study completed several questionnaires (DASS/EPQ/PBI/DS14/CTQ) and attended a semi-structured clinical interview that included the SCID screening module. In a second session students were exposed to the cold pressor test (CPT) ie hand immersion in ice water (<4min). Higher CTQ values were significantly associated with elevated scores on DASS Depression (p<0.001), DASS Anxiety (p<0.02), DASS Stress (p<0.002), DS14 NA (p<0.001) and EPQ Neuroticism (p<0.01). In addition, elevated CTQ/DS14 scores also predicted higher max pain/lower threshold ratings (p<0.05) on a visual analogue scale following the CPT. The robust association between the CTQ scores measuring early life experiences and current mood (and personality) states even in a small non-clinical population we consider remarkable. Additional neuroimmunoendocrine data has been collected to develop a physiological index of ELSr severity in the adult to improve assessment and tailor treatment for chronic pain patients.