Reactivity in pain-free subjects and a clinical pain population: evaluation of the Kohn Reactivity Scale-dutch Version.
BACKGROUND
Patients with pain are more reactive to various types of sensations, not limited to pain alone. A potential useful instrument to assess reactivity is the Kohn Reactivity Scale (KRS). This study examines the psychometric characteristics of the KRS-Dutch version and its ability to differentiate between subjects with and without pain.


METHODS
Internal consistency, convergent validity, and test-retest reliability of the Dutch translation of the KRS were assessed in 321 pain-free control subjects and different subgroups of this sample. Subsequently, reactivity scores were compared between the pain-free subjects and 291 pain patients who were referred to a pain clinic for treatment.


RESULTS
Reliability analyses indicated good internal consistency (α ≥ 0.77) and high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.95) of the KRS in the control subjects. Validity analyses yielded positive correlations of the KRS with related constructs like pain vigilance and awareness (r = 0.37), symptom severity (r = 0.29), and the personality characteristic neuroticism (r = 0.20). Pain patients had overall significantly higher KRS scores than the pain-free subjects indicating increased reactivity, particularly for the patients with medically unexplained pain.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that the KRS is a useful instrument to screen for reactivity in pain patients, which may be of particular relevance for those suffering from medically unexplained pain.
Pain Clinic, Division of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Rudolf Magus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Dieuwke S
DS
Veldhuijzen
Siri D S
SD
Noordermeer
Albert J M
AJ
van Wijck
Tom J
TJ
Snijders
Rinie
R
Geenen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult