Validating 2 Short Form Pain Catastrophizing Scales in Active Duty U.S. Army Soldiers Seeking Chronic Pain Treatment

The 13-item Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is a self-report tool commonly used to measure the tendency to catastrophize chronic pain. Clinically, the short forms of the PCS have been studied in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of 2 short form versions of the PCS in active duty soldiers seeking chronic pain treatment.

This was a cross-sectional, retrospective review of clinical data from the intake surveys completed by soldiers seen at an interdisciplinary pain management center at a military treatment facility. The measurements included pain intensity and interference in functioning, depression, anxiety, and pain related catastrophizing. Correlational analyses were conducted between the total scores of the PCS and 2 short form versions (McWilliams 6-item, PCS-6 and Walton 4-item, BriefPCS) as well as other relevant measures to determine concurrent and convergent validity.

The sample comprised 204 soldiers (31 ± 7 years, 172 men). Correlations between the total score of the PCS and the PCS-6 and BriefPCS were 0.98 and 0.95, respectively (P < .001). The correlations between each PCS short form and the depression and anxiety scales were statistically significant (r's ranged from 0.61 to 0.65, all P's < .001), indicating good convergent validity. Pain intensity significantly correlated with each short form scale (r's = 0.44 and 0.43, P's < .001). Likewise, pain interference in functioning was also significantly correlated with each short form scale (r's = 0.59 and 0.61, P's < .001). Internal consistency of both scales was high at Cronbach's α > .90.

The 2 PCS short forms showed good concurrent and convergent validity with high internal consistency in active duty service members. The use of a short form PCS could facilitate the assessment of pain catastrophizing in situations where using the longer original PCS is time-consuming.