An examination of the psychometric structure of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory in temporomandibular disorder patients: a confirmatory factor analysis.

BACKGROUND: This paper seeks to analyse the psychometric and structural properties of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) in a sample of temporomandibular disorder patients. METHODS: The internal consistency of the scales was obtained. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was carried out to test the MPI structure section by section in a sample of 114 temporomandibular disorder patients. RESULTS: Nearly all scales obtained good reliability indexes. The original structure could not be totally confirmed. However, with a few adjustments we obtained a satisfactory structural model of the MPI which was slightly different from the original: certain items and the Self control scale were eliminated; in two cases, two original scales were grouped in one factor, Solicitous and Distracting responses on the one hand, and Social activities and Away from home activities, on the other. CONCLUSION: The MPI has been demonstrated to be a reliable tool for the assessment of pain in temporomandibular disorder patients. Some divergences to be taken into account have been clarified.

Psychological assessment of patients with temporomandibular disorders: confirmatory analysis of the dimensional structure of the Brief Symptoms Inventory 18.

OBJECTIVE: This article analyzes the psychometric and structural properties of the Brief Symptoms Inventory 18 in a sample of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), given the convenience of a brief evaluation of distress in these patients. METHODS: Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out in a sample of 114 patients with TMDs. Two models were tested: the theoretical model with the original structure proposed--which considers three dimensions--and the empirical model obtained through the exploratory factor analysis initially carried out by Leonard R. Derogatis--which consists of the four-factor structure. RESULTS: Both models reached satisfactory indexes in confirmatory factor analysis. Empirical and theoretical reasons led us to prefer the original proposal of three dimensions: somatization, depression and anxiety, and general distress. CONCLUSION: The Brief Symptoms Inventory 18 has been demonstrated to be a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of distress in patients with TMDs, with the advantage of its simplicity and ease of application.