Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire – SF-MPQ-2
Measures the major symptoms of both neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain conditions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire – SF-MPQ-2 was developed by Ronald Melzack, Robert H. Dworkin, et al. (2009). It is designed to measure Pain intensity and quality. The scale is intended for use with Adults with chronic or acute pain.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 22 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Continuous Pain, Intermittent Pain, Neuropathic Pain, Affective Descriptors.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous Pain | 1,5,6,8,9,10 | 6 |
| Intermittent Pain | 2,3,4,11,16,18 | 6 |
| Neuropathic Pain | 7,17,19,20,21,22 | 6 |
| Affective Descriptors | 12,13,14,15 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = None, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8, 9 = 9, 10 = Worst possible.
Scoring
Item scores are averaged to produce a mean score.
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Continuous pain α = 0.893; Intermittent pain α = 0.875; Predominantly neuropathic pain α = 0.917; Affective descriptors α = 0.857; Total score α = 0.907.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.