Global Catastrophizing vs Catastrophizing Subdomains: Assessment and Associations with Patient Functioning

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.