Photo Credit: Olivier Le Moal
A study validated the Patients’ Endorsement of a Biopsychosocial Model of Chronic Pain Scale (PEB) as a reliable tool predicting patients’ engagement in pain self-management strategies, offering potential applications in long-term pain management studies.
The following is a summary of “Endorsing a Biopsychosocial Perspective of Pain in Individuals With Chronic Pain,” published in the January 2024 issue of Pain by Kleinstäuber et al.
This study aimed to validate a self-report tool, the Patients’ Endorsement of a Biopsychosocial Model of Chronic Pain Scale (PEB), designed to assess specific pain beliefs pivotal in patients’ engagement with chronic pain self-management.
A panel of interdisciplinary pain experts crafted the PEB Scale to measure patients’ adherence to a biopsychosocial pain model. Evaluating the scale’s psychometric properties, a sample of 199 chronic pain patients underwent analysis for factorial structure (principal axis factoring), internal consistency (Cronbach alpha), convergent and discriminant validity (correlation analyses), incremental validity (multiple, hierarchical regression analyses), and construct validity (differential population analysis).
The analysis yielded a unidimensional, 11-item scale explaining 51.2% of the variance, indicating strong internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.92). Regression analyses established the PEB as a robust predictor (P < 0.001) for patient engagement in pain self-management, even after accounting for demographic variables, anxiety, depression, and other pain-related beliefs.
Findings confirm the reliability of the PEB Scale in predicting patients’ willingness to adopt pain self-management strategies. Future studies should reassess and validate the scale’s utility in operationalizing PEB. Longitudinal research incorporating the PEB Scale can explore its potential to forecast the shift from acute to chronic pain and its impact on long-term pain management strategies.
