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.