Psychometric properties of the Fatigue Catastrophizing Scale in a general population and its clinical utility in schizophrenia and breast cancer patients

Objective Fatigue catastrophizing is the tendency to engage in negative thinking and evaluative patterns toward experienced fatigue. A number of studies consistently support the significant role of fatigue catastrophizing in perpetuating symptoms of fatigue but no tool has yet been validated. This study aimed to: (1) investigate the psychometric properties of the fatigue catastrophizing scale (FCS) in a sample of non-clinical adults; (2) explore the contribution of catastrophizing to overall fatigue severity in non-clinical participants and in two clinical populations with high fatigue prevalence rates (schizophrenia and breast cancer).Methods Data were collected from 389 French-speaking adults, including 301 non-clinical participants, 30 individuals with schizophrenia, and 58 individuals with a diagnosis of breast cancer. All participants completed the FCS and other questionnaires to assess convergent and divergent validities. Psychometric properties of the FCS were investigated including its factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and convergent validities. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to investigate whether catastrophizing contributed to fatigue severity in the different groups.Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzes revealed a two-factor structure, helplessness/magnification and rumination. Moreover, analyzes demonstrated high internal consistency, good convergent and divergent validities, and excellent temporal stability. Overall, fatigue catastrophizing significantly contributed to the variance of fatigue severity in patients with breast cancer and in patients with schizophrenia.Conclusion The French version of the fatigue catastrophizing scale has good psychometric properties. Fatigue catastrophizing may be clinically important in individuals with a fatigue complaint. Psychological interventions targeting fatigue catastrophizing are warranted in the two clinical populations.