A parsimonious set of verbal descriptors of pain sensation derived from the McGill Pain Questionnaire

In view of some recent disagreements about the vocabulary of pain as suggested in the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), the present study re-examined all MPQ pain descriptors with regard to their appropriateness as descriptors of pain sensation. A sample of 70 undergraduate students (whose first language was English) assigned descriptors to individual sensory subcategories and then rated them in terms of implied intensity of pain. Data were evaluated using three criteria related to the absolute frequency, relative frequency, and unimodality of word assignments to each subcategory. Results revealed that about 40% of the supposed MPQ sensory descriptors could not be classified within any of the sensory subcategories because of incomprehension, underuse, or ambiguity of usage. The majority of the words, however, were classified in the same subcategories and given similar intensity ratings as in the MPQ. These words constitute a parsimonious subset of MPQ descriptors of pain sensation. Such words promise more diagnostic specificity in the assessment of pain. Further research could serve to replicate these findings as part of the ongoing refinement of the MPQ.