Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)

Please read each statement and indicate how frequently you think or feel this way.

1. When I'm in pain... I worry all the time about whether the pain will end.

2. When I'm in pain... I feel I can’t go on.

3. When I'm in pain... It’s terrible and I think it’s never going to get any better.

4. When I'm in pain... It’s awful and I feel that it overwhelms me.

5. When I'm in pain... I feel I can’t stand it anymore.

6. When I'm in pain... I become afraid that the pain will get worse.

7. When I'm in pain... I keep thinking of other painful events.

8. When I'm in pain... I anxiously want the pain to go away.

9. When I'm in pain... I can’t seem to keep it out of my mind.

10. When I'm in pain... I keep thinking about how much it hurts.

11. When I'm in pain... I keep thinking about how badly I want the pain to stop.

12. When I'm in pain... There’s nothing I can do to reduce the intensity of the pain.

13. When I'm in pain... I wonder whether something serious may happen.

When you have completed the questionnaire, please click the "Submit" button below:

Results

Rumination Score:

Magnification Score:

Helplessness Score:

TOTAL Catastrophizing Score:

Scoring

Individuals are instructed to reflect on past painful experiences and to indicate the degree to which they experienced each of the 13 thoughts or feelings when experiencing pain.

Minimum total score = 0, maximum total score = 52
Subscale score ranges:
- PCS-R (Rumination): 0–16. Cut off for significant score: 11 or higher
- PCS-M (Magnification): 0–12. Cut off for significant score: 5 or higher
- PCS-H (Helplessness): 0–24. Cut off for significant score: 13 or higher
A TOTAL score above 30 indicates clinically relevant level of catastrophizing

Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)

Results

Scoring

Resources