A short version of the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS-20): preliminary development and validity.
BACKGROUND
Research has shown significant relations between fear and avoidance of pain and the suffering and disability of chronic pain. Effective measurement tools have formed the foundation for studying these relations.


METHODS
The present article describes the initial development and validation of the PASS-20, a short form version of the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS). Like the original inventory, the PASS-20 measures fear and anxiety responses specific to pain. Items were selected for the short version based on item variance, item intercorrelation and reliability analyses.


RESULTS
The PASS-20 shows strong internal consistency, reliability, and good predictive and construct validity. Item reduction appears to result in minimal shrinkage of validity correlations.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the results suggest that the short form retains adequate psychometric properties. Possible research and clinical implications for the PASS-20 include more efficient screening during evaluations of patients with chronic pain, and use when the time or effort needed for the full version is prohibitive.
McCracken
Lance M
LM
Pain Management Unit, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Disease and University of Bath, United Kingdom. lance.mccracken@rnhrd-tr.swest.nhs.uk
Dhingra
Lara
L
D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires