Correlations for present pain intensity (PPI) scales with the

 number of words chosen (NWCT) and the Pain Rating Index scales were

 significant (p < .01 in all cases) but very low (see Table 3-5). The

 author expressed the belief that these low correlations indicate that "a

 large part of the variance of the present pain intensity may be

 determined by factors other than those indicated by the descriptors"

 (Melzack, 1975, p. 285).


 Table 3-5

 Correlations Between the Present Pain Intensity Scale (PPI) and the
 Total Number of Words Chosen (NWCT)



 PPI

 NWCT .32
 PRI-R Sensory .29
 PRI-R Affective .42
 PRI-R Evaluative .49
 PRI-R Miscellaneous .18
 PRI-R Total .42


 (Melzack, 1975)



 Reading (1983a), in a recent review of the McGill Pain Question-

naire (MPQ), discussed the reliability and validity of the instrument.

Reliability of this type of measure is affected by "the inherent

fluctuating quality of the pain experience" (p. 56). He reports that

repeated administrations of the questionnaire to cancer patients yielded

a 75% consistency index (range 35-90%). In another study "the words

selected on the MPQ have been compared with those chosen from a

checklist format", and he obtained a broadly similar profile (p. 56).