Millon Behavioral Health Inventory norms for chronic pain patients

The Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI) is being used more widely in pain treatment settings; however, normative data on a large sample of chronic pain patients have not been published. In the present study, norms were established for 247 chronic pain patients. The chronic pain patient norms then were compared statistically to norms for non-medical population. Overall, the results showed that the score distributions for chronic pain patients and normals were similar on most MBHI scales. The differences that were found are consistent with other research on pain patients and indicate that chronic pain patients are more likely to be depressed and anxious. Differences in scales between chronic pain patients and controls may be explained by state vs. trait factors. In evaluating chronic pain patients by personality tests, one needs to keep in mind state-trait problems and their potential influence on test results.