Assessing values – Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Valuing Questionnaire in adults with chronic pain

Abstract The ability to engage in valued activities in the presence of pain and distress is critical to maintain or improve functioning and quality of life. Therefore, treatments based on contextual behavioral science, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), target values as a central change process. Hence, psychometrically adequate measures of the construct are needed. The Valuing Questionnaire (VQ) is a recent, generic and clinically relevant self-report questionnaire to assess values. However, there is yet a scarcity of psychometric evaluations and only one study has been conducted with chronic pain patients. Furthermore, the instrument is not yet available in Swedish. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of a Swedish version of VQ in a sample of 252 persons seeking treatment for chronic pain. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor solution with ten items. Results showed an acceptable model fit, good internal consistencies and significant relationships with criteria variables. Also, the construct validity of the questionnaire subscales was supported by moderate correlations with psychological inflexibility. Furthermore, VQ explained a significant amount of incremental variance in pain interference, quality of life, depressive symptoms, and psychological inflexibility with and without control for pain and distress. Results suggest that the Swedish translation of VQ has adequate psychometric properties, providing support for the utility of the instrument to assess values among individuals with chronic pain.