[Empirical validation of the "pain intensity" construct]

The purpose of this study was to analyse the dimensionality of the construct pain intensity. Pain intensity was measured by two different scales, the Pain Regulation Questionnaire, subscale "Pain Intensity" (Schermelleh-Engel, 1990), and the Hamburg Pain Adjective Checklist (Hoppe, 1985). The data were collected from a sample of 103 subjects (71 females, 32 males) with chronic rheumatic pain and examined by means of the Classical Latent-Additive Testmodel (CLA-Model) of Moosbrugger & Müller (1981, 1982). The results suggested (1) that each of the scales can be regarded as homogeneous and (2) that both scales measure the same latent construct, which could be identified as pain intensity.