Title:

Global catastrophizing versus catastrophizing subdomains: Assessment and associations with patient functioning

Author(s):

Iwaki R, Arimura T, Jensen MP, Nakamura T, Yamashiro K, Makino S, Obata T, Sudo N, Kubo C, Hosoi M

Year:

2012

Publication Info:

Pain Medicine, 13(5):677-687

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives of the current study were to 1) confirm the three-factor model of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) items in a Japanese sample and 2) identify the catastrophizing subdomain(s) most closely associated with measures of pain and functioning in a sample of individuals with chronic pain.
DESIGN: This was based on a cross-sectional observational study.
SETTING: This study was conducted in a university-based clinic.
PATIENTS: One hundred and sixty outpatients with chronic pain participated in this study.
OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients completed the PCS, the Brief Pain Inventory, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; 30 patients completed the PCS again between 1 and 4 weeks later.
RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure of the Japanese version of the PCS, and univariate and multivariate associations with validity criterion supported the validity of the measure. Catastrophic helplessness was shown to make a unique contribution to the prediction of pain intensity, pain interference and depression, and catastrophic magnification made a unique contribution to the prediction of anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the cross-cultural generalizability of the three-factor structure of the PCS and indicate that the PCS-assessed catastrophizing subdomains provide greater explanatory power than the PCS total score for understanding pain-related functioning.

Link to Article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22487496