Cancer stigma scale: Validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale for all cancer subtypes

Abstract

Aim: Many people move away from society after being diagnosed with cancer. Most of the cancer-related studies are focused on lung cancer. The aim of the study is to establish the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale (CLCSS) Short Version for all cancer subtypes. Material and method: The patients participating in the study consisted of individuals who were diagnosed with cancer either inpatient or outpatient treatment. In the evaluation of the structural validity, the compliance statistics were used to assess the adequacy of the model obtained in the confirmatory factor analysis. At the end of the validity evaluation, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated as an estimate of the internal consistency of each sub-dimension. Results: The mean age of the participants was 56,90±11,14 years. According to the confirmatory Factor Analysis and Compliance statistics of the 21 items in the Turkish version of the scale, except for two items, it was determined that it is suitable for three sub-dimensional structures. In the factor analysis of Varimax rotation, the Keizer-Meyer-Olkin ratio of the sample is 0.884 and Barleett's test result is 3792.05 (0.001). The two items (most people are disturbed by someone with cancer, people with cancer lose jobs when they learn about employers) were below 0.40, they were not included in any factor. The Cronbach's alpha value was determined as 0.89 for the tree-factor scale. Conclusion: The Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale short version is a valid and reliable tool for all cancer patients, not just lung cancer. Keywords: Cancer, Stigma, Scale, Validity, Reliability