An Initial Psychometric Evaluation of the Pain Concepts Questionnaire in a Low-SES Setting

The examination of pain beliefs for chronic pain assessment and treatment has been a growing area of interest. A variety of questionnaires have been developed to assess pain beliefs, however, these questionnaires often require high levels of literacy and education. The pain concepts questionnaire (PCQ) was developed with literacy-adaptations to better evaluate pain beliefs in a low socioeconomic (SES) population. This study is an initial exploratory evaluation of the PCQ in a sample of patients with chronic pain and multiple disparities as part of the learning about my pain (LAMP) trial, a randomized controlled trial comparing literacy-adapted psychosocial treatments for chronic pain. All data were collected at pretreatment. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the underlying factor structure of the PCQ and cross-sectional correlational analyses examined relationships between pain beliefs with sociodemographic factors and chronic pain-related variables. Results suggested a 2-factor solution with a Biopsychosocial factor and Biomedical factor. Consistent with the literature, correlational analyses highlighted racial and SES disparities in pain beliefs and the importance of beliefs in pain- and cognitive/affective-related functioning. The study emphasizes the importance of pain beliefs in chronic pain management and recommends future research to further examine additional psychometric properties of the PCQ. PERSPECTIVE: This study is an initial evaluation of the psychometric properties of a new measure of chronic pain beliefs, the pain concepts questionnaire (PCQ). The PCQ is literacy-adapted and was assessed within a low-SES population. Psychometric proprieties of this measure were promising and could be useful in pain assessment and interventions.