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Supportive Care in Cancer
Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer 3/2009

01-03-2009 | Original Article

Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory: development and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of fear of cancer recurrence

Authors: Sébastien Simard, Josée Savard

Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer | Issue 3/2009

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Abstract

Background

Despite the fact that the fear of cancer recurrence is to varying degrees almost universal in cancer survivors, there is a lack of validated multidimensional instruments to evaluate this issue specifically.

Purpose

The goal of this study was to develop and empirically validate a multidimensional self-report scale for assessing the fear of cancer recurrence, the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory (FCRI).

Methods

A provincial medical databank was used to randomly select a pool of 1,704 French-Canadian patients who had been treated for breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer within the past 10 years. Of these, 300 patients were asked to complete the FCRI on two occasions.

Results

The factorial analysis conducted on the final 42-item scale revealed a seven-component solution (64% of the variance) including the following factors: triggers, severity, psychological distress, coping strategies, functioning impairments, insight, and reassurance. The results also supported the internal consistency (α = 0.95) and the temporal stability (r = 0.89) of the FCRI, as well as its construct validity with other self-report scales assessing fear of cancer recurrence (r = 0.68 to 0.77) or related constructs such as psychological distress (r = 0.43 to 0.77) and quality of life (r = −0.20 to −0.36).

Conclusions

This study suggests that the French-Canadian version of the FCRI is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating the multidimensional aspects of the fear of cancer recurrence.
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Metadata
Title
Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory: development and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of fear of cancer recurrence
Authors
Sébastien Simard
Josée Savard
Publication date
01-03-2009
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Supportive Care in Cancer / Issue 3/2009
Print ISSN: 0941-4355
Electronic ISSN: 1433-7339
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-008-0444-y

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