'Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicologia Matematic'
Abstract
Abstract: The development of psychometrically sound measures to assess mental pain are important
because research has consistently demonstrated a robust relationship to suicide risk. The current research
evaluated the Three-Dimensional Psychological Pain Scale (TDPPS) structure, a suicide-relevant measure
intended to articulate pain into affective, cognitive, and behavioral facets. As the first Western study to
evaluate the TDPPS structure with non-Chinese respondents, six samples comprising 1,627 adults
participated. Neither confirmatory factor analyses nor exploratory structural equation modeling supported
the hypothesized three-dimensional structure of the TDPPS but, instead, identified two dimensions: pain
escape and pain emotions. Scales based on these two dimensions demonstrated replicability in crossvalidation and score internal consistency reliability. Furthermore, validity for scores on these two scales
was confirmed through moderate associations with another pain measure and scales of suicidal behavior
and depression. Findings extend knowledge of TDPPS’s structure of psychological pain and suggest a scale
scoring revision