Abstract
BackgroundTo develop a Cancer Self-Perceived Discrimination Scale (CSPDS) for Chinese cancer patients and to assess its reliability and validity.MethodA total of 178 patients were recruited and the classical test theory was used to develop the CSPDS. Item analysis was adapted to improve the preliminary version of the CSPDS, then the reliability, the validity and the acceptability of the final version of CSPDS were assessed.ResultsThis CSPDS contained 14 items classified into 3 subscales: social withdrawal with 7 items, stigma with 4 and self-deprecation with 3. Good validity (χ2/df = 1.216, GFI = 0.935, AGFI = 0.903, I-CVIs> 0.80) and good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.829, Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.827, test-retest reliability coefficient = 0.944) were found. The completion time was 6.06 ± 1.80 min. Participants who were female and reported poor self-rated health tended to have higher CSPDS scores (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe results indicated that this CSPDS could be used to assess the level of self-perceived discrimination and to preliminarily screen perceived discrimination among Chinese cancer patients, especially in Southwest China. It may provide a basis for scientific assessment of targeted patient education, psychological counseling, social interventions, and psychotherapy in the future.
Highlights
To develop a Cancer Self-Perceived Discrimination Scale (CSPDS) for Chinese cancer patients and to assess its reliability and validity
Development of the preliminary version of CSPDS According to the semi-structured interviews, self-perceived discrimination could be conceptualized as three subscales: social withdrawal, stigma and self-deprecation
9 items were about social withdrawal factor, 8 items about stigma factor, and 4 items about self-deprecation factor; 16 were forward-scored and 5 items were reversed-scored
Summary
To develop a Cancer Self-Perceived Discrimination Scale (CSPDS) for Chinese cancer patients and to assess its reliability and validity. Once a group member begins to experience a process in which one is treated differently (especially unequally or disparagingly) [1], self-perceived discrimination, originating from the person’s subjective feelings, is likely to arise (either intermittently or continually). It can reflect the level of actual discrimination or systematic over- or under-estimation of actual discrimination [2]. The prevalence of long-term psychological effects of cancer cannot be neglected [13, 14], which attaches more importance to cancer-related self-perceived discrimination [15]. Patients can perceive discrimination due to fear of death and side effects from cancer treatments [16,17,18,19]
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