Study Validates Scoliosis Self-Perception Questionnaires

Scoliosis invariably brings on alterations in self-perception. Researchers in Germany set out to determine if certain assessment tools would be valid and helpful in refining diagnosis and offer psychotherapeutic support.

Their work, “Reliability and validity of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Trunk Appearance Perception Scale (TAPS)”, appears in the October 30, 2018 edition of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.

The authors wrote, The SAQ “…consists of 11 pictorial items and 22 questions regarding patients’ expectations…”

The TAPS “…consists of only three drawings illustrating the patient’s trunk from three different angles: First, looking at the back of the patient in an upright position; second, looking at the front of the patient from their head towards the pelvis while the patient is bent over towards the observer; and third, looking at the front of the patient in an upright position (this third drawing has a version for females and a version for males).”

The authors wrote, “All study participants were surveyed about their age, gender, height, weight (body mass index was calculated), average level of back pain during the previous 6 months on the visual analogue scale (VAS), current degree of scoliosis (Cobb angle of the most severe curve), history of scoliosis treatment, and current treatment. Afterwards, participants answered several scoliosis-related questionnaires including the SAQ and TAPS.”

Co-author Meinald Thielsch, Ph.D., with the Department of Psychology at the University of Münster in Germany, described the study to OTW, “The Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Trunk Appearance Perception Scale (TAPS) are questionnaires that mostly rely on drawings to assess scoliosis patients’ subjective viewpoints on their trunk deformity.”

“The reliability of SAQ and TAPS was high, except for test–retest correlation of the SAQ Expectations scale. Both the SAQ and TAPS measures showed factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. Subgroup analyses showed that patients with more severe Cobb angles (≥40°) and those ≥ 46 years of age had significantly worse SAQ and TAPS scores.”

“In consequence, we recommend using the TAPS for future clinical workups and research, as it is much shorter and revealed slightly higher psychometric quality in comparison to the SAQ. As a general recommendation when asking scoliosis patients about their self-perceptions, worries and well-being, we suggest applying a combination of questionnaires such as the TAPS, BIDQ-S [Body Image Disturbance Questionnaire-Scoliosis], and SRS-22 [Scoliosis Research Society-22] or alternatively QLPSD [Quality of Life Profile for Spine Deformities] as screening instruments about twice a year.”