Original Research Article: Pain

Psychometric Properties of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire and Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia in Patients with Neck Pain

Cleland, Joshua A. PT, PhD, OCS, FAAO, MPT; Fritz, Julie M. PT, PhD, ATC; Childs, John D. PT, PhD, MBA, OCS, FAAO, MPT

Author Information

From the Department of Physical Therapy, Franklin Pierce College, Concord, New Hampshire (JAC); Rehabilitation Services, Concord Hospital, Concord, New Hampshire (JAC); Regis University Manual Therapy Fellowship Program, Denver, Colorado (JAC); Division of Physical Therapy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (JMF); Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City, Utah (JMF); and U.S. Army–Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy, San Antonio, Texas (JDC).

All correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Joshua A. Cleland, PT, PhD, OCS, FAAOMPT, Physical Therapy Program, Franklin Pierce College, 5 Chenell Drive, Concord, NH 03301.

This study was supported by a grant from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation 87(2):p 109-117, February 2008. | DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0b013e31815b61f1

Abstract

Cleland JA, Fritz JM, Childs JD: Psychometric properties of the fear-avoidance beliefs questionnaire and Tampa scale of kinesiophobia in patients with neck pain. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2008;87:109–117.

Objective: 

To examine selected psychometric properties of these instruments in a cohort of patients with mechanical neck pain.

Design: 

Cohort design of 78 subjects completing self-report measures of pain, disability, and the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire Work (FABQW) and Physical Activity (FABQPA) subscales, as well as the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) at baseline and a 2-day follow-up. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to calculate test–retest reliability, and Cronbach's alpha was used to calculate internal consistency. Concurrent validity was analyzed between the FABQPA, FABQW, TSK, pain, and disability using Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical linear regression modeling.

Results: 

The FABQPA and FABQW subscales exhibited substantial test–retest reliability, whereas the TSK exhibited moderate reliability. Internal consistency was high for all measures. The FABQW subscale was the only measure that significantly contributed to the regression model for both pain and disability in this group of patients with neck pain.

Conclusions: 

Whereas the reliability and internal consistency of all measures ranged between moderate and substantial, the results of this study suggest weaker relationships between measures of fear and avoidance beliefs and pain/disability among patients with mechanical neck pain than has been reported among patients with low-back pain.

© 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

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