Faculty Publications

Factor Structure, Reliability, And Validity Of The Pain Catastrophizing Scale

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Catastrophizing questionnaire, Factor analyses, Pain, Reliability

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Behavioral Medicine

Volume

20

Issue

6

First Page

589

Last Page

605

Abstract

The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS; Sullivan et al, Psychol. Assess. 7, 524-532, 1995) has recently been developed to assess three components of catastrophizing, rumination, magnification, and helplessness. We conducted three studies to evaluate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the PCS. In Study I, we conducted principal-components analysis with oblique rotation to replicate the three factors of the PCS. Gender differences on the original PCS subscales were also analyzed. In Study II, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the adequacy of fit of four alternative models. We also evaluated evidence for concurrent and discriminant validity. In Study III, we evaluated the ability of the PCS and subscales to differentiate between the responses of clinic (students seeking treatment) and nonclinic undergraduate samples. Also, in the clinic sample, we evaluated evidence of concurrent and predictive validity for the PCS. The internal consistency reliability indices for the total PCS and subscales were examined in all three studies, and future dire are discussed.

Department

Department of Psychology

Original Publication Date

12-1-1997

DOI of published version

10.1023/A:1025570508954

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