About the Pain Self Perception Scale (PSPS)

What is the PSPS and how was it developed?

The PSPS comprises 24 items describing negative thoughts and feelings about oneself due to pain. It was developed through a collaboration between Professor Nicole Tang, Professor Paul Salkovskis, and Dr Magdi Hanna at King’s College London. The scale combines items from two other scales to provide a more pain-focused measure that has relevance and specificity for people with chronic pain.

Validation of PSPS

The PSPS has undergone various psychometric tests to assess its reliability. These tests demonstrate the PSPS's suitability and robustness in measuring self-perception in relation to pain.

In people with chronic pain:

• Principal components analysis revealed a one-factor solution, supporting the scale's structural validity.
• PSPS has moderate-strong correltions with pain, anxiety, and depression, supporting its construct validity
• PSPS has excellent internal consistency (in chronic pain and other participant groups).
• PSPS has high levels of stability over a 2-day readministration intervel, demonstrating test-retest reliability
• PSPS has been translated in Chinese and Spanish with cross-cultural validity assessed.
• PSPS has good face validity, ensured through pilot testing and patient advisors' input.
• PSPS has the ability to identify/predict clinically significant suicide risk for diagnostic purposes.

Using PSPS

The PSPS is freely available for use for non-commercial purposes, with permission required. It is primarily administered through self-completion in online surveys or on printed paper versions. Scoring is done by summing individual item scores.

This user guide offers comprehensive insights into the PSPS, making it a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians aiming to assess/target mental defeat in chronic pain patients.

Acknowledgements

This user guide has been developed by Professor Nicole TangLink opens in a new window and Dr Kristy ThemelisLink opens in a new window from the Warwick Sleep & Pain LabLink opens in a new window.

Special thanks and acknowledgements go to:

• Contributions made by Professor Paul SalkovskisLink opens in a new window and Dr. Magdi Hanna to the development of the Pain Self Perception Scale (PSPS), with support and permission from Professor Anke EhlersLink opens in a new window and Professor Paul GilbertLink opens in a new window.
• The dedicated members of the Warwick Sleep and Pain researchers who have contributed to the understanding and validation of the scale through various research projects.
• Dr Josh Cartwright, Business Development Manager at Warwick Innovations, University of Warwick for his invaluable assistance throughout the MRC-IAA project.
• The stakeholders who provided valuable feedback and comments on the user guide.

Funding

The initial development of the Pain Self Perception Scale was supported by a fellowship from the Croucher Foundation, awarded to Prof Nicole Tang. The development of this user guide and the online platform have been made possible through the support of the MRC-IAA (Medical Research Council – Impact Acceleration Account) grant awarded to Prof. Nicole Tang and Dr Kristy Themelis and the Medical Research Council (MRC) grant MR/S026185/1 Link opens in a new windowto Prof Nicole Tang.

Who is the PSPS for?

The primary audience for this PSPS user guide is researchers and clinicians. Researchers can use it to incorporate the scale into their studies, whereas clinicians can utilise it for patient assessments. In addition, patients with chronic or persistent pain may find it helpful for self-assessment, but we would suggest speaking to your health professional for further guidance on interpreting the score. If answering any of the questions in this scale made you feel uncomfortable and you would like to speak to someone about your thoughts, please reach out to relevant mental health organisations, medical professionals or family members.

Update revisions

To ensure that this user guide remains current and aligned with the latest developments, it is regularly updated and revised as necessary, particularly as further validation data and insights into the PSPS become available. These updates will be made to the website version as produced here. Please check the latest published date at the bottom of this page.