Objective: The aim of the study is an investigation of the psychometric characteristics of the Italian translation of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory and a comparison with the American, German, Swedish and Dutch versions of the MPI.
Method: The Italian translation of the MPI was administered together with Melzack McGill Pain Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Visual Analog Scales. Confirmatory factor analyses were accomplished on the MPI scores. Furthermore, reliability, intercorrelations, and convergent validity of MPI were evaluated.
Patients: Participants were 220 patients suffering from a variety of chronic pain syndromes (cephalalgia 45.8%; low-back pain 30.5%).
Results: Confirmatory factor analyses suggest changes to all 3 sections of the MPI-IV. Factor structure, after having excluded several items sorted according to the 3 sections of the questionnaire, is basically the same as in other versions of the MPI. Internal consistency analyses yielded acceptable reliability (Cronbach alpha coefficients) for 11 out of 13 scales.
Conclusions: After making appropriate changes in all 3 sections of the inventory, the MPI is substantially suitable for use in cross-cultural and international research.