Psychometric Properties of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool–Chronic Pain Version in Families of Children With Headache

Abstract

Children with headache disorders are at increased psychosocial risk, and no validated screening measures exist to succinctly assess for risk. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool–Chronic Pain, a previously adapted screening measure of risk, in a retrospective sample of families of children diagnosed with headaches. Participants included 127 children and caregivers presenting for behavioral health evaluation of headache. Children and their primary caregivers completed several psychosocial assessment measures. Internal consistency for the Psychosocial Assessment Tool–Chronic Pain total score was high (α = 0.80), and all subscale scores had moderate to high internal consistency (α = 0.597-0.88), with the exception of the caregiver beliefs subscale (α = 0.443). The total score and the majority of subscale scores on the Psychosocial Assessment Tool–Chronic Pain were correlated with caregiver- and child-reported scores on study measures. The results demonstrate that the Psychosocial Assessment Tool–Chronic Pain has adequate psychometric properties, and because of the brief administration time, ease of scoring, and accessibility of the measure, it is a promising measure of screening for psychosocial risk in this population.