Psychometric Analyses of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scale in a Greek Palliative Care Unit
|
| Mystakidou, Kyriaki, University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece, Watson, Maggie, Royal Marsden Hospital, NHS Trust, London, Sutton, UK, Tsilika, Eleni, University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece, Parpa, Efi, University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece, Katsouda, Emmanouela, University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece |
Background: In psychosocial research with cancer patients, coping and mental adjustment were some of the most widely studied concepts. The mental adjustment to cancer (MAC) scale was designed by Watson et al. (1988) to measure a pre-defined set of psychological responses to a cancer diagnosis.
Purpose: To assess the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale on a heterogeneous Greek sample of 200 advanced cancer patients.
Results: The homogeneity of the original subscales proved to be satisfactory (a coefficients ranged from 0.81-0.91). Factor analysis was carried out using the LISREL 8.3 procedure. This yielded 5 factors, including 25 of the 40 original items (a coefficients 0.62-0.93). The items excluded, resulted from the statistical analysis and not because they were judged inappropriate to be used in the Greek cancer patients. Nevertheless, they cannot be independent of the cultural context and perceptions. The resulting factors were called "Hopeless", "Positive Attitude", "Acceptance", "Mental Engagement", and "Fatalistic". Correlations between the MAC scale and the disease severity as measured by the ECOG performance status have shown difference only between patients with "good" versus "poor" performance status in the "Hopeless" scale (p-0.047).
Conclusions: The results suggest that the Greek version, as measured in advanced cancer patients attending a palliative care unit, is a reliable and valid clinical tool in Greece. (characters=1717).
|
