The DOI matches its Crossref record; 25 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The measurement of clinical pain intensity: a comparison of six methods
Abstract
The measurement of subjective pain intensity continues to be important to both researchers and clinicians. Although several scales are currently used to assess the intensity construct, it remains unclear which of these provides the most precise, replicable, and predictively valid measure. Five criteria for judging intensity scales have been considered in previous research: ease of administration of scoring; relative rates of incorrect responding; sensitivity as defined by the number of available response categories; sensitivity as defined by statistical power; and the magnitude of the relationship between each scale and a linear combination of pain intensity indices. In order to judge commonly used pain intensity measures, 75 chronic pain patients were asked to rate 4 kinds of pain (present, least, most, and average) using 6 scales. The utility and validity of the scales was judged using the criteria listed above. The results indicate that, for the present sample, the scales yield similar results in terms of the number of subjects who respond correctly to them and their predictive validity. However, when considering the remaining 3 criteria, the 101-point numerical rating scale appears to be the most practical index.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Validity and utility of the 11-point NRS is sufficient and it is responsive to changes in individuals [20-22].”
From Staying at work with chronic nonspecific musculoskeletal pain: a qualitative study of workers' experiences (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
Citations
Cites
Statistical principles in experimental design.
Winer, B. J. (1962) · McGraw-Hill Book Company · doi:10.1037/11774-000 · Cited by 27,137
The McGill Pain Questionnaire: Major properties and scoring methods
Melzack, R. (1975) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(75)90044-5 · Cited by 6,873
Statistical Principles in Experimental Design
Green, P. E., Winer, B. J., Brown, D. R., & Michels, K. M. (1992) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3172747 · Cited by 4,333
Graphic representation of pain
Scott, J., & Huskisson, E. C. (1976) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(76)90113-5 · Cited by 2,706
Studies with pain rating scales.
Downie, W., Leatham, P. A., Rhind, V. M., Wright, V. A., Branco, J. A., & Anderson, J. (1978) · Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases · doi:10.1136/ard.37.4.378 · Cited by 1,987
Chapman, C. R., Casey, K. L., Dubner, R. A., Foley, K. M., Gracely, R. H., & Reading, A. E. (1985) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(85)90145-9 · Cited by 1,095
The Foundations of Factor Analysis.
Sheth, J. N., & Mulaik, S. A. (1975) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2285414 · Cited by 977
Pain and Behavioral Medicine: A Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective
Turk, D., Meichenbaum, D. H., Genest, M., & Berntzen, D. (1984) · Scandinavian Journal of Behaviour Therapy · doi:10.1080/16506078409455719 · Cited by 977
Ohnhaus, E. E., & Adler, R. (1975) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(75)90075-5 · Cited by 797
Measurement of pain: Patient preference does not confound pain measurement
Kremer, E. F., Atkinson, H. J., & Ignelzi, R. J. (1981) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(81)90199-8 · Cited by 595
Ratio scales of sensory and affective verbal pain descriptors
Gracely, R. H., McGrath, P., & Dubner, R. (1978) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(78)90020-9 · Cited by 553
Comparison of fixed interval and visual analogue scales for rating chronic pain
Joyce, C. R. B., Zutshi, D. W., Hrubes, V., & Mason, R. M. (1975) · European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology · doi:10.1007/bf00562315 · Cited by 539
Estimating the effects of social interventions
Judd, C. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1981) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 534
Studies with different types of visual analog scales for measurement of pain
Sriwatanakul, K., Kelvie, W., Lasagna, L. C., Calimlim, J. F., Weis, O. F., & Mehta, G. (1983) · Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1038/clpt.1983.159 · Cited by 474
EMG Biofeedback and Tension Headache: A Controlled Outcome Study
Budzynski, T., Stoyva, J., Adler, C. S., & Mullaney, D. J. (1973) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-197311000-00004 · Cited by 417
HUSKISSON, E. C. (1983) · PubMed · Cited by 394
The use of pain scales in assessing the efficacy of analgesics in post-operative dental pain
Seymour, R. A. (1982) · European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology · doi:10.1007/bf00605995 · Cited by 258
Measurement Strategies in Health Psychology
Lewine, R. J. (1986) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.143.10.1305 · Cited by 249
Linton, S. J., & Götestam, G. (1983) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(83)90127-6 · Cited by 162
Cancer-related pain—II. Assessment with visual analogue scales
Ahles, T. A., Ruckdeschel, J. C., & Blanchard, E. B. (1984) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(84)90004-7 · Cited by 126
Analogue chromatic continuous scale (ACCS): a new method for pain assessment.
Grossi, E., Borghi, C., Cerchiari, E., Puppa, T. D., & Francucci, B. (1983) · PubMed · Cited by 60
Conceptual Issues in the Assessment of Clinical Pain
Turk, D. C., & Kerns, R. D. (1984) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.2190/rqar-ut6w-g4a0-tyhy · Cited by 48
A standardized evaluation of psychosocial factors in chronic pain
Heaton, R. K., Getto, C. J., Lehman, R. A. W., Fordyce, W. E., Brauer, E., & Groban, S. E. (1982) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(82)90192-0 · Cited by 41
Suppose We Measured Height With Rating Scales Instead of Rulers
Dawes, R. M. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100213 · Cited by 29
A Protocol for the medico-psychosocial evaluation of patients with chronic pain
Catchlove, R. F. H., & Ramsay, R. A. (1983) · Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d anesthésie · doi:10.1007/bf03007090 · Cited by 9
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Pain assessment: global use of the Brief Pain Inventory.
Cs, C., & Km, R. (1994) · PubMed · Cited by 5,178
Hawker, G. A., Mian, S., Kendzerska, T., & French, M. (2011) · Arthritis Care & Research · doi:10.1002/acr.20543 · Cited by 4,924
Pain: a review of three commonly used pain rating scales
Williamson, A., & Hoggart, B. (2005) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2005.01121.x · Cited by 3,083
Hjermstad, M. J., Fayers, P. M., Haugen, D. F., Caraceni, A., Hanks, G. W., Loge, J. H., Fainsinger, R., Aass, N., & Kaasa, S. (2011) · Journal of Pain and Symptom Management · doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.08.016 · Cited by 2,697
Serlin, R. C., Mendoza, T. R., Nakamura, Y., Edwards, K. R., & Cleeland, C. S. (1995) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(94)00178-h · Cited by 1,493
Metadata
- Authors
- Jensen, M. P., Karoly, P., & Braver, S.
- Affiliations
- Arizona State University (US)
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 1986-10
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 117-126
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2064475745
- Cited by
- 3,275
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 110 · 2025: 119 · 2024: 116 · 2023: 108 · 2022: 129 · 2021: 155 · 2020: 149 · 2019: 143 · 2018: 130 · 2017: 119 · 2016: 114 · 2015: 106 · 2014: 112 · 2013: 120 · 2012: 118
- FWCI
- 13.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
- Keywords
- pain intensity assessment, pain intensity scales, chronic pain, numerical rating scale, scale validity, predictive validity, scale sensitivity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pain Measurement, Surveys and Questionnaires
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
