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Useful questionnaires for inclusion in a comprehensive psychosocial assessment may include the following (please note this list is not exhaustive):

Depression, Anxiety, Stress Score (DASS21):

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 Items (DASS-21) is a psychological assessment tool designed to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress. DASS21 is widely used in clinical and research settings to assess and differentiate between symptoms of depression and anxiety, both of which can co-occur with stress.

The DASS-21 consists of three self-report scales, each containing 7 items:

•Depression Scale: Assesses dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, lack of interest/involvement, anhedonia, and inertia.

•Anxiety Scale: Measures autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety, and subjective experience of anxious affect.

•Stress Scale: Focuses on levels of chronic non-specific arousal, assessing difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and being easily upset/agitated, irritable/over-reactive, and impatient.

Respondents are asked to indicate the presence of each state over the past week on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (Did not apply to me at all) to 3 (Applied to me very much, or most of the time).

Each of the sub scales represent psychosocial barriers to work participation and are amenable to change. The DASS-21 is also valuable for monitoring the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Brief Pain Inventory – Severity and interference

The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) is a widely used instrument for measuring the severity of pain and the degree to which pain interferes with an individual's daily activities. The tool measures pain severity including the worst, least, average and current pain levels.

The pain interference component evaluates the extent to which pain hinders the person’s engagement in various aspects of daily life. It covers seven domains:

1.General Activity: How pain affects the individual's overall activities.

2.Mood: The impact of pain on the individual's mood.

3.Walking Ability: How pain influences the ability to walk.

4.Normal Work: The effect of pain on both outside-the-home work and housework.

5.Relations with Other People: How pain affects relationships and interactions with others.

6.Sleep: The impact of pain on the ability to sleep.

7.Enjoyment of Life: How pain affects the individual's overall enjoyment of life.

Like the severity component, pain interference is rated on a scale from 0 (does not interfere) to 10 (completely interferes), offering insights into how pain affects functional and emotional well-being.

Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ):

Pain self-efficacy is a significant predictor of an individual's ability to manage pain and maintain function. Individuals with higher pain self-efficacy are more likely to engage in physical activities, employ adaptive coping strategies, and have a proactive approach to managing their pain.

The Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) is a psychological assessment tool designed to measure the degree of confidence individuals have in their ability to perform activities despite being in pain. Self-efficacy refers to a person's belief in their capability to execute behaviours necessary to produce specific performance attainments.

The PSEQ consists of 10 items that are rated from 0 to 6, covering various aspects of daily life and activities, including:

•Household chores

•Socialising

•Work-related tasks

•Leisure activities

•Coping with pain without medication

The PSEQ is primarily used to assess how much a person believes they can carry on with their life despite their pain. This belief or confidence level is a critical component of pain management and rehabilitation programs because:

Higher levels of self-efficacy have been associated with better outcomes in pain management, including lower levels of disability, reduced pain intensity, and improved quality of life.

Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS):

Pain catastrophising has been identified as a key psychological factor influencing pain perception, recovery from injury, and response to pain treatment. When an individual harbours negative thoughts about actual or anticipated pain, there may be feelings of helplessness, rumination over the pain experience, and magnification of the pain's severity and its potential consequences.

The Pain Catastrophising Questionnaire (PCS) is an instrument designed to assess the extent to which individuals experience catastrophic thinking in relation to pain.

The PCS consists of 13 items, rated from 0 to 4, that evaluate three dimensions of catastrophising:

•Rumination: Constantly thinking about the pain.

•Magnification: Exaggerating the threat or severity of the pain.

•Helplessness: Feeling unable to manage pain or its consequences.

Respondents rate items based on their thoughts and feelings when experiencing pain on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (all the time). The PCS provides a total score and subscale scores for the three dimensions, offering a comprehensive view of an individual's catastrophising tendencies.

The Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK)

is a widely used psychological assessment tool designed to measure fear of movement/(re)injury, a concept known as kinesiophobia or fear of movement due to pain.

The TSK assesses thoughts and beliefs related to the physical activity and injury on a five point Likert scale, including:

•Fear of pain or injury due to movement.

•Beliefs about the vulnerability of the body.

•Avoidance behaviour stemming from fear of movement.

The TSK is used to identify and measure the level of fear that may inhibit an individual's willingness to engage in physical activities. It's particularly useful in rehabilitation settings to assess patients with chronic pain or those recovering from injuries.

Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ)

The fear-avoidance model highlights the importance of psychological factors in the experience of pain and the development of chronic pain conditions. The FABQ provides a means to quantify these factors, offering valuable insights into how an individual's beliefs and fears might contribute to their pain experience and disability level.

The FABQ consists of 16 items divided into two subscales:

•The FABQ Physical Activity subscale (FABQ-PA) includes 4 items that assess beliefs about the effect of physical activity on their pain.

•The FABQ Work subscale (FABQ-W) contains 7 items that evaluate beliefs regarding how work affects pain and the ability to work.

Respondents rate their agreement with each statement on a scale from 0 (completely disagree) to 6 (completely agree), providing insight into the extent to which fear and avoidance beliefs impact their perception of physical activity and work.

Abilita Rehabilitation Index17

The proprietary Abilita Rehabilitation Instrument (ARI) questionnaires are comprehensive assessments developed specifically to risk profile personal injury clients.

•The ARI.MSI for physical injury includes 2 complete tools (OMPSQ and PSEQ) to support comparative research and both contribute items toward the required BPS domains. 26 additional questions are necessary to canvas all key psychosocial factors; there are 61 items in total. Respondents complete the online questionnaire in approximately 15 minutes.

•The ARI.PI for psychological injury includes the DASS21 to clarify the locus and intensity of distress, 31 additional questions drawn from a variety of tools to canvas the key influential psychosocial contributors to disability in psychological injury/illness, including work-related perceptions and a brief PTSD screen totally 72 items and taking respondents 20 minutes to complete.

•Reports are immediately generated providing ARI score and scores from the contributing instruments. Responses are also collated and categorised to provide domain ratings.

ARI.MSI biopsychosocial domains are Pain, Function, Emotions, Coping, Confidence and Work Perceptions.

ARI.PI biopsychosocial domains are Function, Emotions, Coping, Confidence and Work Perceptions.

•Software calculation and collation of responses into domains provides profile standardisation to guide intervention planning.

•ARI.MSI and ARI.PI may be repeated up to 3 times to measure change, with each report comparing results with previous scores and domain ratings.