Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire – PSEQ
Assesses the confidence people with ongoing pain have in performing activities while in pain.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire – PSEQ was developed by Nicholas, M. K. (2007). It is designed to measure Pain self-efficacy. The scale is intended for use with Adults with chronic or persisting pain.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 10 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Not at all confident, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = Completely confident.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 60. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low pain self-efficacy (associated with less sustainable functional gains): 0 – 30
- Moderate pain self-efficacy: 31 – 40
- High pain self-efficacy (associated with return to work and maintenance of functional gains): 41 – 60
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.92.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.