A psychometric evaluation of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia — from a physiotherapeutic perspective

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish language version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-SV) questionnaire. All in all, 102 patients suffering from chronic low back pain (CLBP) and 60 subjects who took part in aerobics were included in the study. The test of reliability included stability over time and internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the total sum of the TSK-SV was 0.91. The Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient for the total sum of the instrument was r = 0.91. Internal consistency assessed with Cronbach's alpha was 0.81 (n = 75). The test of validity included face and content validity assessed by a panel of experts, while construct validity was measured by an exploratory factor analysis and the known groups' method. The TSK-SV was considered to have face and content validity. The factor analysis indicated a five-factor solution, although the conclusion was formulated in favor of the use of the total score. The known groups' method revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (patients and aerobics), which supports the instrument's construct validity. We concluded that TSK-SV is reliable for use on patients suffering from chronic low back pain. The validity of the instrument needs to be further tested on larger populations.