Reliability and Validity of the European Portuguese Version of the Multisensory Amplification Scale in Adolescents

To translate the Multisensory Amplification Scale (MSAS) into European Portuguese and assess its validity and reliability in adolescents.

The MSAS was completed by 252 adolescents, who also responded online to the questionnaires: Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Functional Disability Inventory, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Basic Scale on Insomnia Complaints and Quality of Sleep, and Central Sensitization Inventory. To assess test-rest reliability and measurement error, a subsample of 114 adolescents completed the MSAS twice. Structural validity and hypotheses testing were explored to assess construct validity.

Test-retest reliability was good in adolescents with (n = 134; ICC  =  0.84) and without (n = 118; ICC = 0.76) chronic pain. The SEM and MDC were 3.08 and 8.54 in adolescents with pain, respectively, and 3.28 and 9.09 in adolescents without pain. Cronbach's alpha showed good internal consistency in adolescents with (α = 0.80) and without (α = 0.74) pain. The factor analysis suggested a three-and four-factor solution for adolescents with and without pain, respectively. Positive correlations were found between MSAS and disability(r_s = 0.30), depression, anxiety and stress(r_s = 0.37), symptoms of nervous system sensitization(r = 0.47), sleep impairments(r_s = 0.24) and number of painful body sites(r = 0.24) in adolescents with chronic pain.

The MSAS European Portuguese version appears to be valid and reliable in adolescents with and without chronic pain.