Objective: To evaluate what factors contribute to social participation restrictions in subjects with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), considering the model International Classification of Functioning (ICF).

Methods: Cross-sectional study with 81 individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis, using instruments to measure two constructs of component social participation.

In this study the definition of social participation considered several areas, such as marriage and family, work, leisure, religion, economy, and politics which are based in the social scales of the questionnaires SF-36 and AIMS2.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age greater than 18 years of age
• Mental capacity as assessed by the Brazilian version of Mini Mental State Examination
• Diagnosis of RA according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1987 criteria established by attending service rheumatologist.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who had undergone surgery of the upper limbs, were unable to comply with the protocol for data collection, or with non-corrected visual deficits that could interfere with their functionality were excluded

For this cross-sectional study involved 81 individuals treated between June 2009 and August 2010 in Clinics Hospital, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Recruted by convenience sampling