The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the American version of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and to test the reliability and validity of the German version (CSQ-D). The CSQ was translated and cross-culturally adapted following international guidelines. Reliability and validity were tested in 62 individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes. For the concurrent criterion-related validity the CSQ-D scales were compared with the German Pain Coping Questionnaire (FESV-BW), and for the construct validity with the German Short Form 36 (SF-36). The translation process proceeded without major difficulties. In testing for reliability, the CSQ-D as a whole had a Cronbach's alpha of .94 and an intraclass correlation coefficient of .89 (95% CI .86-.98). The total CSQ-D score was correlated to the FESV-BW scales with scores of r = 0.32-0.55 and with the SF-36 Mental Component Summary with scores of r = 0.32-0.53. The CSQ-D is a precisely translated and highly reliable instrument in the assessment of chronic pain coping strategies. Its concurrent criterion-related validity and construct validity are low. The main reason for the low level of agreement between the CSQ-D and the FESV-BW was revealed by factor analysis.
Perspective: This paper presents the German version of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ-D) together with the results of clinimetric testing. The CSQ-D is a feasible and reliable outcome measure to be used in trials with German-speaking patients or large multicenter multinational trials to assess pain coping strategies in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.