Article

The Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) is used by physical
therapists in clinical practice and in research. However, current understanding
of the PSEQ's measurement properties is incomplete, and investigators cannot be
confident that it provides unbiased information on patient self-efficacy.
The aims of this study were: (1) to investigate the scale properties
of the PSEQ using Rasch analysis and (2) to determine whether age, sex, pain
intensity, pain duration, and pain-related disability bias function of the PSEQ.
DESIGN: This was a retrospective study; data were obtained from 3 existing
studies. METHODS: Data were combined from more than 600 patients with low back
pain of varying duration. Rasch analysis was used to evaluate targeting, category
ordering, unidimensionality, person fit, internal consistency, and item bias.
RESULTS: There was evidence of adequate category ordering, unidimensionality, and
internal consistency of the PSEQ. Importantly, there was no evidence of item
bias. LIMITATIONS: The PSEQ did not adequately target the sample; instead, it
targeted people with lower self-efficacy than this population. Item 7 was hardest
for participants to endorse, showing excessive positive misfit to the Rasch
model. Response strings of misfitting persons revealed older participants and
those reporting high levels of disability. CONCLUSIONS: The individual items of
the PSEQ can be validly summed to provide a score of self-efficacy that is robust
to age, sex, pain intensity, pain duration, and disability. Although item 7 is
the most problematic, it may provide important clinical information and requires
further investigation before its exclusion. Although the PSEQ is commonly used
with people with low back pain, of whom the sample in this study was
representative, the results suggest it targets patients with lower self-efficacy
than that observed in the current sample.

Langue : ANGLAIS