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Psychometric analyses of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale in a Greek palliative care unit
Author(s) -
Mystakidou Kyriaki,
Watson Maggie,
Tsilika Eleni,
Parpa Efi,
Primikiri Afrodite,
Katsouda Emmanuela,
Vlahos Lambros
Publication year - 2005
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.801
Subject(s) - lisrel , fatalism , scale (ratio) , cancer , psychology , clinical psychology , palliative care , medicine , psychiatry , statistics , structural equation modeling , nursing , mathematics , theology , quantum mechanics , philosophy , physics
The purpose of the study was to assess the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale on a heterogeneous Greek sample of 200 advanced cancer patients. The results presented regard the validation analysis of the Greek version. The homogeneity of the original subscales proved to be satisfactory ( α coefficients ranged from 0.81 to 0.91). A factor analysis was carried out using the LISREL 8.3 procedure. This yielded five factors, including 25 of the 40 original items ( α coefficients 0.62–0.93). 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). 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. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.