Pain-related self-efficacy beliefs in a Brazilian chronic pain patient sample:: a psychometric analysis

While some people become severely or moderately disabled by chronic pain (pain that persists > 3 months), others seem to adjust reasonably well to it. Higher levels of disability are often associated with higher levels of distress, and this relationship can be bidirectional resulting in a vicious cycle. There is evidence suggesting that self-efficacy is one of the most important contributors to disability and emotional adjustment to chronic pain. Defining pain self-efficacy beliefs as confidence in ability to function despite pain, the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) has been widely used to examine the role of self-efficacy in chronic pain patient populations. However, to date it has not been validated in Brazil. This study examined the reliability and validity of the PSEQ in a Brazilian chronic pain population. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 348 chronic pain patients. Reliability of the PSEQ has been found to be adequate (split-balf correlation was 0.76 and internal consistency was 0.90). Factor analysis indicated the existence of only one factor. Discriminant and concurrent validity were also adequate. Altogether these results indicate that the PSEQ has good psychometric properties when used in this sample. These findings are also consistent with those previously published in the literature. Copyright (c) 2 007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.