Suffering Experiences Questionnaires: Scales Development and Validation.

Abstract

Suffering is a universal, subjective experience distinct from symptoms or diagnoses. Most existing measures reduce it to single items or symptom checklists, and even recent advances fail to capture its full breadth or the dimension of overcoming suffering. The Suffering Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) provides a comprehensive, theory-agnostic instrument assessing both suffering and overcoming across contexts. The SEQ was developed in four steps. First, the initial pool of over 100 items was generated from clinical experience. Second, graduate-students reduced it to 91 items. Third, an expert panel of 14 scholars and clinicians refined it to 64 items divided between suffering and overcoming. Finally, three graduate students reviewed items for readability. Two validation studies assessed psychometric properties and utility. Study 1 reduced the SEQ to 20 items and established its structure and internal consistency, along with a 10-item short form (SEQ-10). Study 2 confirmed structure, reliability, and convergent and concurrent validity. Both versions converged with and predicted symptomatology and well-being outcomes and were meaningful from Western and Eastern perspectives. The SEQ and SEQ-10 are the first non-symptom-based measures integrating suffering and overcoming. Both demonstrate strong psychometric properties and clinical utility. Strengths, limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.