Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization Scale: development, validation, and preliminary findings

Abstract

Joel Katz,1,2 Samantha R Fashler,1 Claire Wicks,1 M Gabrielle Pagé,3 Kaley M Roosen,1 Valery Kleiman,1 Hance Clarke2 1Department of Psychology, York University, 2Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, 3Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada Background: This article reports three studies describing the development and validation of the 12-item Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization Scale (SPTS-12). SPT refers to the anxiety-related cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to pain that resemble the features of a traumatic stress reaction.Methods: In Study 1, a preliminary set of 79 items was administered to 116 participants. The data were analyzed by using combined nonparametric and parametric item response theory resulting in a 12-item scale with a one-factor structure and good preliminary psychometric properties. Studies 2 and 3 assessed the factor structure and psychometric properties of the SPTS-12 in a community sample of 823 participants (268 with chronic pain and 555 pain-free) and a clinical sample of 345 patients (126 with chronic post-surgical pain, 92 with other nonsurgical chronic pain, and 127 with no chronic pain) at least 6 months after undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery, respectively. Results: The final SPTS-12 derived from Study 1 comprised 12 items that discriminated between individuals with different levels of SPT, with the overall scale showing good to very good reliability and validity. The results from Studies 2 and 3 revealed a one-factor structure for chronic pain and pain-free samples, excellent reliability and concurrent validity, and moderate convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusion: The results of the three studies provide preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of the SPTS-12. Keywords: chronic pain, chronic post-surgical pain, trauma, psychology, scale development, measurement, item response theory analysis, factor analysis

Keywords

• chronic pain
• chronic post-surgical pain
• trauma
• psychology
• scale development
• measurement
• item response theory analysis
• factor analysis