Adaptation and validation of the Tampa scale to measure kinesiophobia in patients with vestibular disorders.

Abstract

ObjectivesKinesiophobia is the condition in which the patient restricts their movements and activities because of the fear of being injured again after a painful experience. Numerous studies have found kinesiophobia in patients with vestibular disorders. This research study aimed to develop and measure the psychometric properties of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK-11), for use in persons with dizziness (TSKd).MethodsAn observational validation study of questionnaires was carried out including 211 participants with dizziness. After adapting the TSK-11 items to the symptoms of dizziness, the construct validity was evaluated with principal component analysis (PCA), internal consistency with the calculation of Cronbach's alpha, test-retest reliability with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), concurrent validity with Spearman correlation and predictive validity with ROC curve analysis.ResultsThe PCA retained 10 items from the original scale with a three-factor structure that mediates fear (TSKd_f), negative thoughts (TSKd_n) and avoidance (TSKd_a). Cronbach's alpha was 0.810 for the 10-item TSKd. Reproducibility was moderate to substantial, with ICCs between 0.69 and 0.84. The TSK showed strong correlations with the DHI, while correlations with other dizziness measures were moderate. A TSKd score >25 and TSKd_f score >9 showed good predictive capacity, with an area under the curve (AUC) ROC of 0.85 and a sensitivity and specificity between 0.85 and 0.70.ConclusionsThe TSKd is a tool available for measuring kinesiophobia in persons with dizziness. Both the 10-item TSKd and the 4-item TSKd_f scales have good psychometric properties.