A Catalan Adaptation and Validation of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children

Pain catastrophizing is a key factor in modern conceptualizations of pain. The development of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children (PCS-C) has greatly contributed to the interest shown by pediatric pain specialists. The purpose of this work was to study the factor structure of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and analyze its reliability and convergent, discriminant, and criteria related validity. Three hundred sixteen adolescents (12-19 years) completed the Catalan version of the PCS-C and provided information about pain intensity. A subgroup of 136 participants also completed measures of disability, anxiety sensitivity and pain coping strategies. The results confirmed the 3-factor model solution for the PCS-C, and demonstrated good internal consistency for the total Catastrophizing Scale (0.89) and for the Rumination (0.80) and Helplessness (0.82) PCS-C subscales. Internal consistency for the Magnification subscale, however, was not quite as good (0.63). This 3-factor model could be improved by removing Item 8 and developing additional items for the Rumination PCS-C subscale. The results also provide evidence of the convergent, discriminant and criterion-related validity of the PCS-C scores when used with Catalan-speaking adolescents. Our data demonstrate that the Catalan version of the PCS-C is a psychometrically sound questionnaire that provides valid and reliable scores when used to assess pain catastrophizing in adolescents.