The Chinese version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia was cross-culturally adapted and validated in patients with low back pain.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to obtain a cross-cultural adaptation and evaluation of a Simplified Chinese (SC) version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) for use in patients with low back pain (LBP).

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

The TSK was translated and adapted cross-culturally following international guidelines. It was administered to 150 patients with LBP along with the Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index, Short Form Health Survey, and a pain visual analog scale assessment. Measurement properties, including content validity, construct validity (structural validity and hypotheses testing), internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, were tested.

RESULTS

The final analysis included data from 142 patients. Content validity analysis led to the exclusion of four reverse-scored items due to low item-total correlation. Structural validity analysis favored a three-factor structure: somatic focus, activity avoidance, and avoidance belief. Construct validity analysis confirmed 9 of 11 a priori hypotheses. Both the 17-item and 13-item versions of the SC-TSK had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.74 and 0.82, all values, respectively) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.86, 0.90).

CONCLUSION

TSK was adapted successfully into an SC version with excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability and with acceptable construct validity. A 13-item, three-factored SC-TSK structure was deemed to be a good fit for Chinese patients and appropriate for clinical and research use in mainland China.