Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) in Brazilian patients with chronic cancer pain: A validation study

Abstract

Objective

To analyze the measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) in patients with chronic cancer pain.

Methods

The study was conducted in two hospitals in northeastern Brazil. In addition to the PCS, the following instruments were used: Barthel Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). The measurement properties tested were reliability, internal consistency, and structural and construct validity.

Results

The sample consisted of 120 cancer patients. The majority of the sample was female (65.8%) and had a basic education (60%). Thirty-three different types of cancer were identified; the most prevalent were uterine cancer (22.5%) and leukemia (10%). We identified the presence of a domain in the PCS in the exploratory factor analysis according to the fit indices: Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test = 0.80 and p value <0.001 in Bartlett's sphericity test. Adequate test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.80) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89) were observed. Correlations between the PCS and HADS subscales fell within the 0.30–0.50 range, as hypothesized. We identified no floor or ceiling effects (<15%).

Conclusion

The PCS presented adequate measurement properties to assess catastrophizing in patients with chronic cancer pain, becoming a useful tool to evaluate these patients.