Validation of the Spanish version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children (PCS-C)

Abstract

IntroductionPain catastrophizing is a powerful factor that can affect health care outcomes as well as emotional and physical well-being. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children (PCS-C) is widely used, but it is not validated in Spanish. The aim of the study was to translate the PCS-C to Spanish and assess the validity and reliability of the translated version. Patients and methodsThis study was carried out in two phases: (a) instrument translation (via a translation-back-translation process) and (b) psychometric analysis (construct validity: exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects and convergent validity). It had a cross-sectional design and was conducted on a sample of children aged 8–18 years was selected by convenience in a paediatric hospital. The study followed the STARD checklist. ResultsThe sample included 150 children and adolescents (mean age, 12.45 years; 63.8% male) and their parents. The exploratory and the confirmatory analysis showed a good adjustment of the model to the original 3-model structure with 13 items. The internal consistency of the scale was excellent (Cronbach α, 0.904), and no floor or ceiling effects were detected. In the convergent validity analysis, the Spanish version of the PCS-C showed a moderate correlation with pain interference (r=0.400) and with health-related quality of life (r=0.217–0.303). ConclusionsThese results show that the Spanish version of the PCS-C is a valid and reliable scale to assess pain catastrophizing in children and adolescents.