RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE DUTCH ADAPTATION OF THE QUEBEC BACK PAIN DISABILITY SCALE

Background and Purpose. The purposes of this study were to determine w hether a Dutch translation of the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (C BPDS) retains the high levels of reliability and validity of the origi nal English version and to determine whether it is therefore more prac tical to translate this scale, and possibly other scales, than to gene rate language- and culture-specific instruments. Subjects. Subjects we re 120 individuals with chronic low back pain. Methods. The QBPDS was filled out at the beginning of the study, after 1 week, and after 4 mo nths. Reliability was determined by calculating Pearson correlation co efficients and intraclass correlation coefficients in addition to Cron bach's alpha and item-total correlation at the beginning of the study and after 4 months. Validity was examined by correlating the QBPDS sco res to external criteria scores at a single point in time (cross-secti onal) and over a period of time (longitudinal). Results. Pearson and i ntraclass correlation coefficients for test-retest reliability were .9 0. Cronbach's alpha was .95. The cross-sectional construct validity co efficients were .80 (RDQ) and .70 (pain severity). The longitudinal co nstruct validity coefficients were .60 (RDQ), .53 (pain severity), and .35 (course of the complaint). Conclusion and Discussion. Our results support previous findings of the English and French versions of the Q BPDS. Whether this instrument can be used as an evaluative instrument remains unknown.