The Pain and PRAYER Scale (PPRAYERS): development and validation of a scale to measure pain-related prayer

Prayer is a devotional practice used across religious traditions to commune with the sacred and has been used as a coping strategy for pain. Previous research on prayer as a pain coping strategy has had mixed results, with prayer associated with both greater and lesser pain depending on prayer type. To date, there has been only 1 measure of pain-related prayer, the prayer subscale of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire-Revised, which measures solely passive prayer, neglecting other types of prayer (eg, active and neutral). To better understand the relationship between pain and prayer, a comprehensive measure of prayer for pain is needed. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Pain-related PRAYER Scale (PPRAYERS), a questionnaire exploring active, passive, and neutral petitionary prayers to God or a higher power in response to pain.

Adults with chronic pain (n = 411) completed demographic, health, and pain-related questionnaires, including PPRAYERS.

Results of an exploratory factor analysis yielded a 3-factor structure consistent with active, passive, and neutral subscales. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in adequate fit after the removal of 5 items. PPRAYERS showed good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity.

These results provide preliminary validation for PPRAYERS, a novel measure for pain-related prayer.