Initial psychometric evidence of a brief measure of cancer worry

Abstract

Objective: The cancer worry is associated with preventive behaviors for the detection of this disease; However, there is no instrument with evidence of validity and reliability to measure this construct in Latin American countries, including Peru. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the evidence of validity based on the internal structure and reliability of the Cancer Worry Scale (CWS) ina sample of people without cancer diagnosis with a family history of cancer. Method: It counted withthe participation of 215 healthy people with a family history of cancer who attended the outpatientservice of two public and private health institutions in the city of Chimbote with an average age of42.10 years (SD = 14.05). For the collection of information, an ad hoc sociodemographic record andthe Cancer Worry Scale were used. Results: The one-dimensional model presented a good fit of the data(SBχ2 (8) = 14.39, SB χ2 / df = 1.79, CFI = 0.991, SRMR = 0.025, RMSEA = 0.061 [IC90%: 0.000-0.111], AIC = 47.701) and adequate reliability (ω corrected = 0.90; IC95%: 0.88-0.92). Conclusion: Itis concluded that the CWS presents adequate psychometric properties, being a measure that providesvalid and reliable interpretations of the cáncer worry in the peruvian context.