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Reactivity in Pain‐Free Subjects and a Clinical Pain Population: Evaluation of the K ohn Reactivity Scale‐ D utch Version
Author(s) -
Veldhuijzen Dieuwke S.,
Noordermeer Siri D.S.,
Wijck Albert J.M.,
Snijders Tom J.,
Geenen Rinie
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
pain practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1533-2500
pISSN - 1530-7085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1533-2500.2012.00600.x
Subject(s) - reactivity (psychology) , medicine , population , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , alternative medicine , environmental health , pathology
Abstract Background Patients with pain are more reactive to various types of sensations, not limited to pain alone. A potential useful instrument to assess reactivity is the K ohn Reactivity Scale ( KRS ). This study examines the psychometric characteristics of the KRS ‐ D utch version and its ability to differentiate between subjects with and without pain. Methods Internal consistency, convergent validity, and test–retest reliability of the D utch translation of the KRS were assessed in 321 pain‐free control subjects and different subgroups of this sample. Subsequently, reactivity scores were compared between the pain‐free subjects and 291 pain patients who were referred to a pain clinic for treatment. Results Reliability analyses indicated good internal consistency (α ≥ 0.77) and high test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.95) of the KRS in the control subjects. Validity analyses yielded positive correlations of the KRS with related constructs like pain vigilance and awareness ( r = 0.37), symptom severity ( r = 0.29), and the personality characteristic neuroticism ( r = 0.20). Pain patients had overall significantly higher KRS scores than the pain‐free subjects indicating increased reactivity, particularly for the patients with medically unexplained pain. Conclusions These findings indicate that the KRS is a useful instrument to screen for reactivity in pain patients, which may be of particular relevance for those suffering from medically unexplained pain.