TY - JOUR
T1 - Validating 2 Short Form Pain Catastrophizing Scales in Active Duty U.S. Army Soldiers Seeking Chronic Pain Treatment
AU - Ee, Juliana S
AU - Dogbey, Godwin Y
AU - Goodie, Jeffrey L
AU - Marshall, Kyle D
N1 - © The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2025. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact [email protected].
PY - 2025/9/1
Y1 - 2025/9/1
N2 - INTRODUCTION: The 13-item Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is a self-report tool commonly used to measure the tendency to catastrophize chronic pain. Clinically, the short forms of the PCS have been studied in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of 2 short form versions of the PCS in active duty soldiers seeking chronic pain treatment.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, retrospective review of clinical data from the intake surveys completed by soldiers seen at an interdisciplinary pain management center at a military treatment facility. The measurements included pain intensity and interference in functioning, depression, anxiety, and pain related catastrophizing. Correlational analyses were conducted between the total scores of the PCS and 2 short form versions (McWilliams 6-item, PCS-6 and Walton 4-item, BriefPCS) as well as other relevant measures to determine concurrent and convergent validity.RESULTS: The sample comprised 204 soldiers (31 ± 7 years, 172 men). Correlations between the total score of the PCS and the PCS-6 and BriefPCS were 0.98 and 0.95, respectively (P < .001). The correlations between each PCS short form and the depression and anxiety scales were statistically significant (r's ranged from 0.61 to 0.65, all P's < .001), indicating good convergent validity. Pain intensity significantly correlated with each short form scale (r's = 0.44 and 0.43, P's < .001). Likewise, pain interference in functioning was also significantly correlated with each short form scale (r's = 0.59 and 0.61, P's < .001). Internal consistency of both scales was high at Cronbach's α > .90.CONCLUSIONS: The 2 PCS short forms showed good concurrent and convergent validity with high internal consistency in active duty service members. The use of a short form PCS could facilitate the assessment of pain catastrophizing in situations where using the longer original PCS is time-consuming.
AB - INTRODUCTION: The 13-item Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is a self-report tool commonly used to measure the tendency to catastrophize chronic pain. Clinically, the short forms of the PCS have been studied in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of 2 short form versions of the PCS in active duty soldiers seeking chronic pain treatment.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, retrospective review of clinical data from the intake surveys completed by soldiers seen at an interdisciplinary pain management center at a military treatment facility. The measurements included pain intensity and interference in functioning, depression, anxiety, and pain related catastrophizing. Correlational analyses were conducted between the total scores of the PCS and 2 short form versions (McWilliams 6-item, PCS-6 and Walton 4-item, BriefPCS) as well as other relevant measures to determine concurrent and convergent validity.RESULTS: The sample comprised 204 soldiers (31 ± 7 years, 172 men). Correlations between the total score of the PCS and the PCS-6 and BriefPCS were 0.98 and 0.95, respectively (P < .001). The correlations between each PCS short form and the depression and anxiety scales were statistically significant (r's ranged from 0.61 to 0.65, all P's < .001), indicating good convergent validity. Pain intensity significantly correlated with each short form scale (r's = 0.44 and 0.43, P's < .001). Likewise, pain interference in functioning was also significantly correlated with each short form scale (r's = 0.59 and 0.61, P's < .001). Internal consistency of both scales was high at Cronbach's α > .90.CONCLUSIONS: The 2 PCS short forms showed good concurrent and convergent validity with high internal consistency in active duty service members. The use of a short form PCS could facilitate the assessment of pain catastrophizing in situations where using the longer original PCS is time-consuming.
KW - Humans
KW - Military Personnel/psychology
KW - Male
KW - Adult
KW - Catastrophization/psychology
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Psychometrics/instrumentation
KW - Chronic Pain/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Retrospective Studies
KW - United States
KW - Pain Measurement/methods
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Reproducibility of Results
KW - Self Report
KW - Anxiety/psychology
KW - Depression/psychology
U2 - 10.1093/milmed/usaf335
DO - 10.1093/milmed/usaf335
M3 - Article
C2 - 40984128
SN - 0026-4075
VL - 190
SP - 793
EP - 798
JO - Military Medicine
JF - Military Medicine
IS - Supplement_2
ER -