A principal components analysis of negative affect-related constructs relevant to pain: evidence for a three component structure

A number of negative affect-related constructs are important in pain. Some are general, such as anxiety, depression and negative affectivity, whereas others are more specifically pain-related (eg, fear of pain, pain anxiety, and pain catastrophizing). In addition, some more specific fear-related constructs, such as anxiety sensitivity, illness/injury sensitivity, and fear of negative evaluation have emerged as important to pain. Although these various constructs are considered conceptually separate, there is likely to be overlap between them. Since the extent of this overlap is unknown, the aim of the current study was to investigate these constructs in 1 sample in order to identify their common and unique features. Frequently used psychological measures were completed by 508 pain-free participants. Principal components analysis resulted in the extraction of three components: 1) General distress; 2) Fear of pain from injury/insult; and 3) Cognitive intrusion of pain. The results presented here suggest that there is indeed commonality between constructs, which may be due to either an overlap between items within measures or to close conceptual relatedness. The implications of these core dimensions are discussed with reference to future research and theory.

Perspective: This article explores the relationships between various negative-affect pain-related measures and discusses the results from a principal components analysis. The findings show that some questionnaires may measure the same latent construct. A measure could be developed to measure these 3 core components more concisely for both clinical and research purposes.