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Extending the validity of the Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer (MAX‐PC) at the time of prostate biopsy in a racially‐mixed population
Author(s) -
Dale William,
Hemmerich Joshua,
Meltzer David
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.1107
Subject(s) - cronbach's alpha , anxiety , prostate cancer , medicine , hospital anxiety and depression scale , population , prostate biopsy , cancer , clinical psychology , gynecology , psychometrics , psychiatry , environmental health
The Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer (MAX‐PC) has been validated for assessing men with prostate cancer for cancer‐specific anxiety. It was originally validated in a predominantly white population. The MAX‐PC Prostate Cancer Anxiety Subscale (MAX‐PC‐PCAS) may be relevant for measuring cancer‐specific anxiety in undiagnosed men at risk for prostate cancer. We assess the validity of the MAX‐PC‐PCAS at the time of prostate biopsy ( n = 178). Questions assessed socio‐demographic information, health status, patient‐estimated risk of cancer, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—Anxiety Subscale (HADS‐A), and the MAX‐PC‐PCAS. The patients' most recent PSA was recorded. Cronbach's alpha, inter‐item correlations, and Pearson correlations with both the HADS‐A and clinical variables were compared with the original validation sample. Our sample was younger (63.1 vs 71.1 years), had a larger fraction of African–Americans (43 vs 10%), and had higher PSAs. Cronbach's alpha was equivalent (0.91 vs 0.90), median inter‐item correlation was equivalent (0.63 vs 0.61), and Pearson correlation with HADS‐A was higher (0.71 vs 0.57). Anxiety levels were not correlated with PSA levels, and there were minor differences in the validation findings by race. The validity of the MAX‐PC‐PCAS extends to men without cancer undergoing biopsy and to African–Americans. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.