A practical tool for clinicians and researchers: psychometric evaluation of a single-item recovery expectation measure in occupational low back pain

A practical tool for clinicians and researchers: psychometric evaluation of a single-item recovery expectation measure in occupational low back pain | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A practical tool for clinicians and researchers: psychometric evaluation of a single-item recovery expectation measure in occupational low back pain Junie S Carrière, Laury Montemurro, Michael J L Sullivan, Marie-Pier Royer This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v3 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 3 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Purpose: Recovery expectations are key predictors of rehabilitation following injury. Despite their widespread use in clinical and research settings, most assessments rely on single-item measures that lack formal validation. This study aims to evaluate the construct validity and test-retest reliability of a single-item recovery expectation measure in individuals with occupational low back pain. Methods: Fifty-eight participants with occupational low back pain enrolled in physical therapy and a pain management course completed a single-item recovery expectation measure (“What is the probability that you will return to work?”) rated on a 0-100 scale. Baseline assessments included psychological measures of pain catastrophizing, perceived injustice, anxiety, and depression. Follow-up assessments were conducted four weeks later. Construct validity (convergent and predictive) and test-retest reliability were analyzed. Results: The single-item measure demonstrated significant negative correlations with psychological variables, supporting convergent validity. A logistic regression showed the baseline recovery expectation measure significantly predicted return-to-work status at four weeks (OR=1.05, p=0.024). Test-retest reliability was high (ICC=0.88), with Bland-Altman plots indicating strong agreement across time. Conclusions: A single-item recovery expectation measure demonstrated good psychometric properties in individuals with occupational low back pain, offering a low-burden, practical tool for clinical and research settings. Its use may facilitate early identification of individuals at risk for prolonged work disability, supporting targeted rehabilitation strategies. Recovery Expectation Single-item measure Return to work Reliability Validity Low back pain Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 3 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3242566","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":473239333,"identity":"4a3414b5-7218-4169-89c5-aa520a0b6016","order_by":0,"name":"Junie S Carrière","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Université de Sherbrooke","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junie","middleName":"S","lastName":"Carrière","suffix":""},{"id":473239334,"identity":"fc85667c-d793-402d-bf81-b459d65b2cc4","order_by":1,"name":"Laury Montemurro","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université de Sherbrooke","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laury","middleName":"","lastName":"Montemurro","suffix":""},{"id":473239335,"identity":"b9c8fbbe-6d91-41d2-8d24-21b57963957a","order_by":2,"name":"Michael J L Sullivan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"McGill University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"J L","lastName":"Sullivan","suffix":""},{"id":473239336,"identity":"b08cd014-007f-4696-bc52-a9a43d730286","order_by":3,"name":"Marie-Pier Royer","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université de Sherbrooke","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie-Pier","middleName":"","lastName":"Royer","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-08-07 15:14:18","currentVersionCode":3,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v3","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v3","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85088102,"identity":"a79afed7-048e-489c-aa1f-233624e0c75c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-20 20:42:39","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":397372,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Carriereetal.Singleitemrecoveryexpectationmeasure.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3242566/v3_covered_af665f6c-1f97-429a-8340-19fb9551312e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA practical tool for clinicians and researchers: psychometric evaluation of a single-item recovery expectation measure in occupational low back pain\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Recovery Expectation, Single-item measure, Return to work, Reliability, Validity, Low back pain","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v3","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v3","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePurpose:\u003c/strong\u003e Recovery expectations are key predictors of rehabilitation following injury. Despite their widespread use in clinical and research settings, most assessments rely on single-item measures that lack formal validation. This study aims to evaluate the construct validity and test-retest reliability of a single-item recovery expectation measure in individuals with occupational low back pain.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e Fifty-eight participants with occupational low back pain enrolled in physical therapy and a pain management course completed a single-item recovery expectation measure (“What is the probability that you will return to work?”) rated on a 0-100 scale. Baseline assessments included psychological measures of pain catastrophizing, perceived injustice, anxiety, and depression. Follow-up assessments were conducted four weeks later. Construct validity (convergent and predictive) and test-retest reliability were analyzed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e The single-item measure demonstrated significant negative correlations with psychological variables, supporting convergent validity. \u0026nbsp;A logistic regression showed the baseline recovery expectation measure significantly predicted return-to-work status at four weeks (OR=1.05, p=0.024). Test-retest reliability was high (ICC=0.88), with Bland-Altman plots indicating strong agreement across time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions: \u003c/strong\u003eA single-item recovery expectation measure demonstrated good psychometric properties in individuals with occupational low back pain, offering a low-burden, practical tool for clinical and research settings. Its use may facilitate early identification of individuals at risk for prolonged work disability, supporting targeted rehabilitation strategies.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A practical tool for clinicians and researchers: psychometric evaluation of a single-item recovery expectation measure in occupational low back pain","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":3,"date":"2025-06-20 20:34:31","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v3","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":2,"date":"2024-05-09 20:38:53","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v2","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":1,"date":"2023-08-11 14:00:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3242566/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"74c4213e-7e91-4412-bce6-65ff1a2e5b79","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 20th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-02-03T22:44:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-20 20:34:31","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v3","identity":"rs-3242566","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3242566","identity":"rs-3242566","version":["v3"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}