Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-bkrcr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-22T06:19:11.652Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Clinical applications of visual analogue scales: a critical review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Heather M. McCormack ,
David J. de L. Horne  and
Simon Sheather
Heather M. McCormack*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne and Statistical Consulting Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia
David J. de L. Horne
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne and Statistical Consulting Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia
Simon Sheather
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne and Statistical Consulting Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Heather M. McCormack, Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, 3052.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) provide a simple technique for measuring subjective experience. They have been established as valid and reliable in a range of clinical and research applications, although there is also evidence of increased error and decreased sensitivity when used some subject groups. Decisions concerned with the choice of scoring interval, experimental design, and statistical analysis for VAS have in some instances been based on convention, assumption and convenience, highlighting the need for more comprehensive assessment of individual scales if this versatile and sensitive measurement technique is to be used to full advantage.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , November 1988 , pp. 1007 - 1019
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ahles, T. A., Ruckdeschel, J. C. & Blanchard, E. B. (1984). Cancerrelated pain. II, Assessment with visual analogue scales. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 28, 121–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aitken, R. C. B. (1969). A growing edge of measurement of feelings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 62, 989–996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aitken, R. C. B. & Zealley, A. K. (1970). Measurement of moods. British Journal of Hospital Medicine iv, 215–225.Google Scholar
Areskog, B., Uddenberg, N. & Kjessler, B. (1984). Postnatal emotional balance in women with and without antenatal fear of childbirth. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 28, 213–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beaumont, G., Rooney, J. F. F., Murphy, J. E. & Donald, J. F. (1970). The use of patients self rating scales in assessment of anxiolytic drugs.7th CINP Meeting Prague,Czechoslovakia. (Quoted in Malpas et al. (1974).).Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C.Mendelson, M., Mock, J. & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 4, 561–571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A. T., Schuyler, D. & Herman, I. (1974). Development of suicidal intent scales. In The Prediction of Suicide (ed. Beck, A. T., Resnick, H. L. P. and Lettieri, D. J.), Charles Press: Bowie.Google Scholar
Bond, A. & Lader, M. (1974). The use of analogue scales in rating subjective feelings. British Journal of Medical Psychology 47, 211–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlsson, A. M. (1983). Assessment of chronic pain. I. Aspects of the reliability and validity of the visual analogue scale. Pain 16, 87–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carroll, B. J., Feinberg, M., Smouse, P. E., Rawson, S. G. & Greden, J. F. (1981). The Carroll rating scale for depression. I. Development, reliability, and validation. British Journal of Psychiatry 138, 194–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chapman, C. R. (1976). Measurement of pain: problems and issues. In Advances in Pain Research and Therapy, vol. 1 (ed. Bonica, J. J. and Albe-Fessard, D. G.), pp. 345–354:. Raven Press: New York.Google Scholar
Clyde, D. J. (1950). Construction and validation of an emotional association test. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Pennsylvania State College, Philadelphia. (Quoted in Folstein and Luria (1973).)Google Scholar
Coates, A., Dillenbeck, C. F., McNeil, D. R., Kate, S. B., Sims, K., Fox, R. M., Woods, R. L., Milton, G. W., Solomon, J. & Tattersal, H. N. (1983). On the receiving end. II. Linear analogue selfassessment (LASA) in evaluation of aspects of the quality of life of cancer patients receiving therapy. European Journal of Cancer and Clinical Oncology 19, 1633–1637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davies, B., Burrows, G. & Poynton, C. (1974). A comparative study of four depression rating scales. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 9, 21–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derogatis, L. R. (1977). SCL-90-R Manual. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine: Baltimore.Google Scholar
Feinberg, M., Carroll, B. J., Smouse, P. E. & Rawson, S. G. (1981). The Carroll rating scale for depression. III. Comparison with other rating instruments. British Journal of Psychiatry 138, 205–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M. F. & Luria, R. (1973). Reliability, validity, and clinical application of the visual analogue mood sale. Psychological Medicine 3, 479–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Maiberger, R. & McHugh, P. R. (1977). Mood disorder as a specific complication of stroke. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 40, 1018–1020.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M. F., DePaulo, J. R. & Trepp, K. (1982). Unusual mood stability in patients taking lithium. British Journal of Psychiatry 140, 188–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Freyd, M. (1923). The graphic rating scale. Journal of Educational Psychology 14, 83–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaston-Johansson, F. (1984). Pain assessment: differences in quality and intensity of the words pain, ache and hurt. Pain 20, 69–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldney, R. D. (1979). Assessment of suicidal intent by a visual analogue scale. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 13, 153–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hackett, T. P. & Cassem, N. H. (1974). Development of a quantitative rating scale to assess denial. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 18, 93–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 23, 56–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Handley, S. L., Dunn, T. L., Waldron, G. & Baker, J. M. (1980). Tryptophan, cortisol and puerperal mood. British Journal of Psychiatry 136, 498–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hardy, J. D., Wolff, H. G. & Goodell, H. (1952). Pain Sensations and Reactions. Williams & Watkins: Baltimore.Google Scholar
Hayes, M. H. & Patterson, D. G. (1921). Experimental development of the graphic rating method. Psychological Bulletin 18, 98–99.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. S., Byrne, D. G. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1981). Neurosis and the Social Environment. Academic Press: Sydney.Google Scholar
Herbert, M., Johns, W. & Dore, C. (1976). Factor analysis of analogue scales measuring subjective feelings before and after sleep. British Journal of Medical Psychology 49, 373–379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hettmansperger, T. P. (1984). Statistical Inference Based on Ranks. Wiley: New York.Google Scholar
Hornblow, A. R. & Kidson, M. A. (1976). The visual analogue scale for anxiety: A validation study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 10, 339–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huskisson, E. C. (1974). Measurement of pain. The Lancet (ii), 1127–1129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joyce, C. R. B., Zutshi, D. W., Hrubes, V. & Mason, R. M. (1975). Comparison of fixed interval and visual analogue scales for rating chronic pain. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 8, 415–420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kremer, E., Atkinson, J. H. & Ignelzi, R. J. (1981). Measurement of pain: patient preference does not confound pain measurement. Pain 10, 241–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, J. C. & McPhail, N. I. (1973). Measures of depressive mood at monthly intervals. British Journal of Psychiatry 122, 447–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundberg, P. (1980). Assessment of drugs' side effects. Visual analogue scale versus check-list format. Perceptual and Motor Skills 50, 1067–1073.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luria, R. E. (1975). The validity and reliability of the visual analogue mood scale. Journal of Psychiatric Research 12, 51–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malpas, A., Legg, N. J. & Scott, D. F. (1974). Effects of Hypnotics on anxious patients. British Journal of Psychiatry 124, 482–484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Melzack, R. (1975). The McGill Pain Questionnaire: major properties and scoring methods. Pain 1, 277–299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrison, D. P. (1983). The Crichton Visual Analogue Scale for the assessment of behaviour in the elderly. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 68, 408–413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norris, H. (1971). The action of sedatives on brain stem oculomotor systems in man. Neuropharmacology 10, 181–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohnhaus, E. E. & Alder, R. (1975). Methodological problems in the measurement of pain: A comparison between the verbal rating scale and the visual analogue scale. Pain 1, 379–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priestman, T. J. & Baum, M. (1976). Evaluation of quality of life in patients receiving treatment for advanced breast cancer. Lancet i, 899–901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priestman, T. J., Baum, M., Jones, V. & Forbes, J. (1977). Comparative trial for endocrine versus cytotoxic treatment in advanced breast cancer. British Medical Journal 1, 1248–1250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Price, D. D., McGrath, P. A., Rafil, A. & Buckingham, B. (1983). The validation of visual analogue scale measures for chronic and experimental pain. Pain 17, 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rampling, D. J. & Williams, R. A. (1977). Evaluation of group processes using visual analogue scales. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 11, 189–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reading, A. (1980). A comparison of pain rating scales. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 24, 119–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Revill, S. I., Robinson, J. O., Rosen, M. & Hogg, M. I. J. (1976). The reliability of a linear analogue for evaluating pain. Anaesthesia 31, 1191–1198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, R. A. (1961). Some problems of clinical trials in elderly people. Gerontologia Clinica 3, 247–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, R. G., McHugh, P. R. & Folstein, M. F. (1975). Measurement of appetite disturbances in psychiatric disorders. Journal of Psychiatric Research 12, 59–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, J. & Huskisson, E. C. (1976). Graphic representation of pain. Pain 2, 175–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverstone, J. T. & Stunkard, A. J. (1968). The anorectic effect of dexamphetamine sulphate. British Journal of Pharmacological Chemotherapy 33, 513–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slavney, P. R., Breitner, J. C. S. & Rabins, P. (1977). Variability of mood and hysterical traits in normal women. Journal of Psychiatric Research 13, 155–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snedecor, G. W. & Cochran, W. G. (1967). Statistical Methods, (sixth edn). Ames: Iowa.Google Scholar
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L. & Lushene, R. E. (1970). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Consulting Psychologists: Palo Alto, California.Google Scholar
Spring, B., Maller, O., Wurtman, J., Digman, L. & Cozolino, L. (1983). Effects of protein and carbohydrate meals on mood and performance: Interactions with sex and age. Journal of Psychiatric Research 17, 155–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, J. A. (1953). A personality scale of manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 48, 285–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Woodforde, J. M. & Merskey, H. (1972). Some relationships between subjective measures of pain. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 16, 173–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zealley, A. K. & Aitken, R. C. B. (1969). Measurement of mood. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 62, 993–996.Google Scholar
Zung, W. W. K. (1965). A self rating depression scale. Archives of General Psychiatry 12, 63–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed