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Background: Suffering has been considered by many authors to be a difficult concept to assess and measure, as it is subjective and unique. However, to guide the diagnosis and decision‐making of healthcare professionals, it is important to develop an instrument that differentiates the different suffering dimensions, namely, intra‐ and interpersonal suffering, awareness of suffering and spiritual suffering. Aim: The aim of this study was thus to design and validate an instrument for the assessment of the dimensions of suffering in adult patients with chronic diseases or life‐threatening illnesses. Method: A methodological study was developed. The data were collected from two self‐help organisations and a palliative care unit. The theoretical model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. The study sample consisted of 251 patients with chronic diseases or life‐threatening illnesses. The Sense of Coherence Scale, the Spiritual Assessment Scale and the Suffering Assessment Questionnaire in Adults with Chronic Diseases or Life‐Threatening Illness (SAQ) were applied to each participant and were later returned for analysis. Results: An SAQ version with 12 items showed adequate psychometric characteristics of validity and internal consistency after being adapted to a four‐dimensional structure that assesses the four dimensions of suffering. Conclusion: The results of confirmatory analysis indicated a good model fit that suggested that the advocated theoretical model is plausible.

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