The MPQ is a self-reported measure of pain.
1
Up to 30 minutes
The MPQ long version may take as long as 30 minutes to complete.
Short forms of the measure are available.
Adolescent
13 - 17
yearsAdult
18 - 64
yearsElderly Adult
65 +
yearsJason H. Raad
Translated into 26 languages including (common translations include):
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Various Diagnoses:
(Wilke et al., 1990; meta-analytic results of 51 studies; total subjects across studies = 3,624; mean ages ranged from 19 to 62 years)
Various Diagnoses:
(Wilke et al., 1990)
|
Dimension |
Possible Score |
Cancer |
Low Back |
Mixed Chronic |
Acute / Post-up |
Labor / GYN |
Dental |
Total |
|
Sensory |
42 |
12.1 (3.6-17.4) |
16.3 (10.8-20) |
15.2 (9.8-23.7) |
14.2(11.5-26.3) |
16.3 (6.8-22.5) |
10.7 (8-13.4) |
13.9 (3.6-26) |
|
Pain Rating Index (Affective) |
14 |
4.8 (0.5-14.1) |
5.5 (2.6-12.3) |
3.8 (1.7-7.5) |
2.3 (0.9-3.3) |
2.7 (0.7-5.1) |
1.8 (0.8-2.6) |
3.3 (0.4-14.1) |
|
Pain Rating Index (Evaluative) |
5 |
2.7 (1-4.3) |
2.4 (1.5-3.3) |
2.7 (1.1-3.8) |
2.3 (1.3-2.9) |
2.2 (0.5-3.3) |
2.5 (1.1-4.5) |
2.5 (0.5-6.4) |
|
Pain Rating Index (Misc) |
17 |
4.5 (0.3-8.5) |
5.6 (4.1-6.7) |
5.4 (1.3-6.5) |
3.9 (2.4-9.7) |
5.1 (0-7.2) |
3.8 (2.4-4.6) |
4.9 (0-9.7) |
|
Pain Rating Index (Total) |
78 |
24 (5.4-44.4) |
27.9 (17.8-34.4) |
25.4 (14.0-32.9) |
20.5 (7.4-40.7) |
24.7 (14.0-37.2) |
17.8 (13-27.5) |
23 (5.4-44.4) |
|
Number of words chosen |
20 |
9.3 (2.9-14.4) |
9.7 (6.7-12.6) |
11 (6.3-17.2) |
9 (3.8-11.5) |
6.9 (3.8-7.8) |
8.2 (6.6-11.2) |
9.2 (2.9-17.2) |
|
Present Pain Index |
5 |
2.2 (1-4) |
2.3 (1.5-3.3) |
2.6 (1.8-3.6) |
1.6 (1.4-2.8) |
2.4 (2.4) |
2.2 (1.6-2.5) |
2.3 (1-4.0) |
Grand Weighted-Mean scores (range of mean scores)
Lung, Head or Neck, and Prostate Cancer:
(Fisher et al., 2009; n = 302; mean age = 60.5 (11.5) years; all patients undergoing radiation treatment)
Concurrent validity: number of words chosen predicted by (using standardized regression coefficients, Beta):
State Anxiety (Beta = 0.06)
Depression (Beta = 0.07)
Greater number of coping strategies used (Beta = 0.16)
Rheumatoid Arthritis:
(Ferraz et al., 1990; n = 91 (66 literate & 25 illiterate)
Excellent test-retest reliability (literate) r = 0.96
Excellent test-retest reliability (illiterate) r = 0.95
Arthritis:
(Burckhardt, 1984; n = 188 (from two samples, one impatient, one outpatient); approximately 50% presented with rheumatoid arthritis, 30% had osteoarthritis, and 20% had a less common forms of rheumatic disease; MPQ sores (outpatient) = 23.8 (12.8) and (inpatient = 28.8 (13.8) points)
Cancer:
(Mystakidou et al, 2004; n = 114; Greek language version of the MPQ)
Leukemia:
(Donaldson; n = 191; patients with oral mucositis pain due to bone marrow transplants assessed at 3 and 10 days; mean age = 35 (18-57) years)
Lung, Head or Neck, and Prostate Cancer:
(Fisher et al., 2009; n = 302; mean age = 60.5 (11.5) years; all patients undergoing radiation treatment)
Concurrent validity: number of words chosen predicted by (using standardized regression coefficients, Beta):
State Anxiety (Beta = 0.06)
Depression (Beta = 0.07)
Greater number of coping strategies used (Beta = 0.16)
Lung Cancer:
(Wilkie et al., 2001, MPQ pain rating index mean scores = 19 (12) points with 8 words chosen; mean Sensory scores = 12 (7), mean Affective scores = 2 (2), mean Evaluative scores = 2 (2) and mean Misc scores = 3 (3) points)
Low Back Pain:
(Byrne et al, 1981; n = 98 (63 female, 35 male); mean age 41.7 (male); 48.1 (female) years; mean duration of back pain 5.5 and 7.7 years respectively)
Low Back Pain:
(Byrne et al, 1981)
Chronic Pain:
(Dworkin et al., 2009; n = 882; mean experience of chronic pain >8 years; SF-MPQ-2)
|
SF-MPQ-2 Floor and Ceiling Effects: |
|
|
|
|
|
Dimension |
n |
mean (SD) score |
% Floor |
% Ceiling |
|
Total score |
853 |
4.93 (2.04) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Continuous pain |
867 |
5.82 (2.28) |
0.2 |
1.8 |
|
Intermittent pain |
863 |
4.92 (2.72) |
3.9 |
1.7 |
|
Neuropathic pain |
870 |
4.26 (2.57) |
4.1 |
0.9 |
|
Affective descriptors |
868 |
5.46 (2.84) |
3.2 |
6.5 |
Musculoskeletal Pain:
(Menezes et al., 2011; n = 203; 38% = lower limb conditions, 29% = upper limb conditions, 23% = back pain, 8% = neck pain, and 3% = fibromyalgia; mean age = 42.5 (15.5) years; Brazilian-Portuguese Short Form of the MPQ used)
Note: No studies could be located that assessed floor or ceiling effects for the original MPQ
Literature Review:
(Melzack, 1975; measure development)
Subject Matter Experts classified 102 words gleaned from the extant literature.
Words were categorized into 3 classes and 16 subclasses, these include:
Sensory qualities: temporal, spatial, pressure, thermal and "other" properties of pain
Affective qualities: tension fear and automatic properties of pain
Evaluative terms: a subjective assessment of overall pain intensity.
Groups of doctors, patients and students then assigned numeric intensity values to each word
High levels of agreement were observed despite difference in cultural, socio-economic and educational levels
Burckhardt, C. S. (1984). "The use of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in assessing arthritis pain." Pain 19(3): 305-314.
Byrne, M., Troy, A., et al. (1982). "Cross-validation of the factor structure of the McGill Pain Questionnaire." Pain 13(2): 193-201.
Corson, J. A. and Schneider, M. J. (1984). "The Dartmouth Pain Questionnaire: an adjunct to the McGill Pain Questionnaire." Pain 19(1): 59-69.
Donaldson, G. W. (1995). "The factorial structure and stability of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in patients experiencing oral mucositis following bone marrow transplantation." Pain 62(1): 101-109.
Dworkin, R. H., Turk, D. C., et al. (2009). "Development and initial validation of an expanded and revised version of the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ-2)." Pain 144(1-2): 35-42.
Ferraz, M. B., Quaresma, M. R., et al. (1990). "Reliability of pain scales in the assessment of literate and illiterate patients with rheumatoid arthritis." J Rheumatol 17(8): 1022-1024.
Fischer, D. J., Villines, D., et al. (2010). "Anxiety, depression, and pain: differences by primary cancer." Support Care Cancer 18(7): 801-810.
Hawker, G. A., Mian, S., et al. (2011). "Measures of adult pain: Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS Pain), Numeric Rating Scale for Pain (NRS Pain), McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), Chronic Pain Grade Scale (CPGS), Short Form-36 Bodily Pain Scale (SF-36 BPS), and Measure of Intermittent and Constant Osteoarthritis Pain (ICOAP)." Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 63 Suppl 11: S240-252.
Melzack, R. (1975). "The McGill Pain Questionnaire: major properties and scoring methods." Pain 1(3): 277-299.
Menezes Costa Lda, C., Maher, C. G., et al. (2011). "The Brazilian-Portuguese versions of the McGill Pain Questionnaire were reproducible, valid, and responsive in patients with musculoskeletal pain." J Clin Epidemiol 64(8): 903-912.
Mystakidou, K., Katsouda, E., et al. (2004). "Use of the Greek McGill Pain Questionnaire in cancer patients." Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res 4(2): 227-233.
Prieto, E. J., Hopson, L., et al. (1980). "The language of low back pain: factor structure of the McGill pain questionnaire." Pain 8(1): 11-19.
Turk, D. C., Rudy, T. E., et al. (1985). "The McGill Pain Questionnaire reconsidered: confirming the factor structure and examining appropriate uses." Pain 21(4): 385-397.
Wilkie, D. J., Huang, H. Y., et al. (2001). "Nociceptive and neuropathic pain in patients with lung cancer: a comparison of pain quality descriptors." J Pain Symptom Manage 22(5): 899-910.
Wilkie, D. J., Savedra, M. C., et al. (1990). "Use of the McGill Pain Questionnaire to measure pain: a meta-analysis." Nurs Res 39(1): 36-41.
We have reviewed more than 500 instruments for use with a number of diagnoses including stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury among several others.