Mental Pain Questionnaire: An item response theory analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Clinical Psychology
• Neurology

Background:

• The Mental Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) is a self-report tool for assessing mental pain.
• The clinimetric properties of the MPQ have not been extensively validated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinimetric properties of the Mental Pain Questionnaire (MPQ).
• To assess the reliability, validity, and internal consistency of the MPQ in a migraine patient cohort.

Main Methods:

• Mokken Analysis for homogeneity.
• Two-Parameter Logistic model for item-level severity and sensitivity.
• Cronbach's alpha and Sijtsma and Molenaar rho for internal consistency.
• Receiver Operating Characteristic curves for sensitivity and specificity.

Main Results:

• The MPQ exhibited a unidimensional factor structure with satisfactory homogeneity, though items 4, 6, and 7 showed limitations.
• Good discrimination was observed, with item 7 being an exception.
• Reliability was good for mild and high pain levels but poor for low levels.
• Internal consistency, sensitivity, and specificity were acceptable.

Conclusions:

• The MPQ possesses good psychometric properties for migraine patients.
• Items 4, 6, and 7 warrant cautious use in migraine evaluations.
• A score of ≥3 suggests clinically relevant mental pain, and ≥2 indicates distress.