The development and preliminary validation of a brief measure of chronic pain impact for use in the general population

Linda S. Ruehlman, Paul Karoly, Craig Newton, Leona S. Aiken

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

From a biopsychosocial perspective, assessing chronic pain's psychological impact should involve at minimum the measurement of pain severity, functional interference, and pain-related emotional burden. This article details the development of a brief instrument, the 15-item Profile of Chronic Pain: Screen (PCP:S), designed to address these three key elements in a national (US) sample of over 2400 individuals recruited via random digit dialing. Retest reliability, internal consistency, and preliminary validity were excellent. The scales also demonstrated minimal social desirability response bias. A series of confirmatory factor analyses on several distinct samples revealed a stable, 3-factor solution reflecting pain severity, interference, and emotional burden. Finally, national norms were developed by gender and three age groups. In view of its strong psychometric properties, the PCP:S has the potential to serve as a brief, cost-effective assessment tool for identifying individuals whose chronic pain merits more detailed psychosocial evaluation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)82-90
Number of pages9
JournalPain
Volume113
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2005

Keywords

  • Brief screening
  • Chronic pain
  • Emotional burden
  • Pain interference
  • Pain severity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The development and preliminary validation of a brief measure of chronic pain impact for use in the general population'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this