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Life Assessment Questionnaire (LAQ)
The Life Assessment Questionnaire-2 (LAQ-2) was designed to help clinicians better understand the accuracy and honesty of symptoms reported by patients complaining of chronic pain and disability. The majority of the LAQ requires patients to indicate if they are experiencing various physical and psychological symptoms. They are queried about symptom complaints across all major bodily systems. Patients are also asked questions measuring a variety of beliefs such as cynicism and general health. The results of the LAQ-2 should be used as a possible source of hypotheses regarding the veracity of the patient's self-report of symptoms. No decisions about treatment or diagnoses should be made solely on the results of the LAQ.
Population
The LAQ is used with patients with a primary complaint of persistent, nonmalignant pain. (e.g., chronic lumbar or whiplash pain). Patients must be able to read and understand English at the 7th to 8th grade reading level. Patients also need to be cognitively intact, have sufficient stamina and concentration, and capable of making simple pencil marks, of which the latter may not be required if the test is read to them.
Purpose
The LAQ was designed to help clinicians better understand the accuracy and honesty of physical and psychological symptoms reported by patients.
Level III Requirements
The LAQ measures various aspects of response style to assist clinicians in determining the likelihood of deception. The majority of the LAQ requires patients to indicate if they are experiencing various physical and psychological symptoms. They are queried about symptom complaints across all major bodily systems. Patients are also asked questions measuring a variety of beliefs such as perceived disability, virtue, suffering, cynicism and general health. Specialized norms, including a chronic pain sample, are available for comparison. The LAQ is self-report. Administration time is approximately 45 minutes. There are 31 scales on the LAQ.