Brief Pain Inventory – BPI
Measures both the severity of pain and the impact of pain on daily functioning.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Brief Pain Inventory – BPI was developed by Charles S. Cleeland (1994). It is designed to measure Pain severity and pain interference. The scale is intended for use with Adults with chronic pain or clinical conditions.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 11 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Pain Severity, Pain Interference.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Pain Severity | 1,2,3,4 | 4 |
| Pain Interference | 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | 7 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = No pain / Does not interfere, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8, 9 = 9, 10 = Pain as bad as you can imagine / Completely interferes.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 10. Interpretation guidelines:
- No Pain / No Interference: 0 – 0
- Mild Pain / Interference (Mean Score): 1 – 4
- Moderate Pain / Interference (Mean Score): 5 – 6
- Severe Pain / Interference (Mean Score): 7 – 10
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.80 – 0.90.
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.