Validation of the Injustice Experiences Questionnaire in a Heterogeneous Trauma Sample

Purpose/Objective: A recent study by Trost et al. (2015) investigated the influence of perceived injustice-reflecting appraisals of the severity and irreparability of loss following injury, blame, and unfairness-on physical and psychological outcomes in a sample of patients 12 months after sustaining a traumatic injury. This brief report examines the psychometric properties of the Injustice Experiences Questionnaire (IEQ) using the previous sample from Trost et al. (2015) with added trauma patients (total N = 206). Research Method/Design: Primary analyses included confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses to validate the measurement model of the IEQ in patients 12 months after traumatic injury. Reliability analyses were conducted and construct validity was assessed by examining associations between the IEQ and other pain-related, psychological, and health-related outcome variables of interest. Results: Results replicated both one- and two-factor structures from past research, with a high factor correlation in confirmatory factor analyses and cross-loadings in exploratory factor analysis. Item characteristics analysis demonstrated overall strong internal consistency (alpha = .95). In addition, significant associations with psychosocial variables provide additional construct validity in regards to related outcomes. Conclusion/Implications: The IEQ shows strong psychometric properties and is suitable for use in a sample of diverse traumatic injury. However, results suggest the use of a one- factor model for the IEQ in this sample. Future trauma and rehabilitation research can use the IEQ to explore how injustice perceptions related to traumatic injury can prospectively influence physical and psychological outcomes. Impact and Implications Recent research has found that injustice perception as measured by the Injustice Experiences Questionnaire (IEQ) predicts physical and psychosocial outcomes 1 year after traumatic injury. This brief report presents a psychometric evaluation of the IEQ in a similar heterogeneous sample of patients with diverse traumatic injury. This report compares IEQ scores of patients with traumatic injury to one- and two-factor structures previously validated in patients with chronic pain and musculoskeletal injuries. Future trauma and rehabilitation research can explore how injustice perceptions related to traumatic injury can prospectively influence physical and psychological outcomes.