ArticlePain reports
Validation of CARE Scale-7 in treatment-seeking patients with chronic pain: measurement of sex invariance.
Article in Pain reports. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relational demand in the chronic pain experience of women veterans: a mixed methods analysis.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Impact of care guilt on the health status of female medical staff: a cross-sectional study.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- "My Goal is…to get Through the Day Without Pain": A Qualitative Study on Chronic Pain Experiences and Treatment Needs Among Child Caregiving Women.Maternal and child health journal · 2024Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesSocial and interpersonal factors impact the trajectory of chronic pain. We previously developed and validated a 2-factor, 7-item measure to assess interpersonal factors, including relationship guilt and worry and difficulty prioritizing self-care in chronic pain. Here, we confirm the factor structure and examine the sex invariance of the two-factor structure of the CARE Scale-7.
methodsData were collected as part of routine clinical care at a tertiary pain clinic using the Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry. Patient participants (67% women) were predominantly middle-aged (M = 50.9 years, SD = 17.8), married (55.2%), and White/non-Hispanic (55.7%). Data included demographics, pain characteristics, CARE Scale-7, pain catastrophizing, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System psychological and physical function measures. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the factor structure of the CARE Scale, and a stepwise approach to measurement invariances by sex examined configural, metric, and scalar invariance.
resultsInternal consistency of the scale items ensured suitability for factor analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis findings revealed an overall good fit of the 2-factor model among males and females and that CARE Scale-7 is in fact sex invariant. Finally, CARE Scale-7 showed convergent validity with pain-related outcomes. DISCUSSION: The CARE Scale is the first validated instrument to assess self-care in both sexes among patients with chronic pain. The subscale of difficulty prioritizing self-care emerged as a potentially unique factor that should be integrated in clinical assessment. CARE Scale may facilitate standardized measurement in research and clinical contexts, which may inform a comprehensive treatment focus that integrates individualized self-care planning.
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