(107) Comparing Apples to an Orange: Legacy Measures versus PROMIS for Assessing Anxiety in Youth with Chronic Pain

Abstract

Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures are reliable, brief instruments to measure patient health. The PROMIS pediatric anxiety short form assesses anxiety symptoms; however, its ability to capture a clinically meaningful understanding of anxiety is unknown. Within pediatric chronic pain, anxiety is generally assessed by legacy measures examining anxiety symptoms specific to pain [e.g., Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children, (PCS-C)] or broadly [The Screen for Child Related Anxiety Disorders, (SCARED)], which have been shown to predict pain-related outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between the three measures and assess how PROMIS anxiety relates to clinically-validated measures commonly used to understand anxiety in pediatric chronic pain. Participants were 65 youth presenting to a multidisciplinary pediatric pain clinic. Self-report anxiety measures (PROMIS, PCS-C, and SCARED) were collected as part of standard clinical outcomes. Participants were primarily adolescent females (53, 81.5%, Mage =15.0, SD = 1.8). Pain-specific anxiety was moderate (MPCS-C = 19.7, SD = 11.9), while broader anxiety approached clinical cut-offs (MSCARED = 24.6, SD = 19.8, clinical cut-off ≥ 25). PROMIS anxiety was average (total score = 10, SD = 8.4; T-score = 53.8). Correlations between PROMIS and the legacy measures were moderate to high (rSCARED = .81, rPCS-C = .73, p's