The present study examined the factor structure of the Fear of Pain questionnaire in three independent samples composed of European young adults, middle-aged, and elderly people. Seven hundred and thirty one adults (426 females and 305 males) were presented with the French adaptation of the questionnaire (30 items) and with an Exposure to Painful Situations questionnaire that contained the same items as the Fear of Pain questionnaire and where participants were instructed to indicate all the painful situations they have experienced in the past. When tested on the whole set of 30 items, the correlated three-factor model evidenced in previous studies - Severe pain, Minor pain and Medical pain - poorly fit the data. When tested on a set of 15 two-item parcels, the fit of this model was much better but the correlations between factors were very high. When tested on a reduced set of 15 items, the model fit the data as well as when it was tested on the set of 15 parcels, and the correlations between the three factors were lower. The study also examined the link between previous exposure to pain and fear of pain. The hypothesis that previous "natural" exposure to pain should generally result in a decrease in fear of pain was supported by the data. For 14 items, the exposure effect was moderate to strong.

The study was aimed at determining the dimensions of fear of pain associated with medical procedures and the dimensions of fear of pain associated with illnesses and accidents on a sample composed of young, middle-aged and elderly persons. The participants were 573 adults (aged 26-94 years). They were presented with (a) the French adaptation of the ten medical fear items from the original FPQ plus 19 additional items, (b) the French adaptation of the 6 illness items from the original FPQ plus 49 additional items, and (c) an Exposure to Painful Situations Questionnaire. As regards the fear of medical procedures, a four-factor structure was identified: Examination and Care, Shots, Dental care, and Invasive procedures. Older participants, and less educated participants tended to show more fear of invasive procedures than younger participants, and more educated participants. As regards the fear of pain associated with illnesses, an eight-factor solution was found: Minor ailments, cramps, infections and abscesses, inflamed joints, colics, breaks, lesion of organs, and cancer and terminal illness. Older participants tended to show more fear of pain associated with minor ailments, inflamed joints, breaks, colic, and cramps than younger participants did. Previous exposure to pain resulted in a clear decrease in fear of pain associated with most of medical procedures, especially invasive procedures and shots.