title: Latent structure and reliability analysis of the measure of body apperception: cross-validation for head and neck cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cancer and its treatments are associated with psychological distress that can negatively impact self-perception, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life. Patients with head and neck cancers (HNC) are particularly susceptible to psychological distress. This study involved a cross-validation of the Measure of Body Apperception (MBA) for HNC patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and twenty-two English-fluent HNC patients between 20 and 88 years of age completed the MBA on a Likert scale ranging from "1 = disagree" to "4 = agree." We assessed the latent structure and internal consistency reliability of the MBA using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Cronbach's coefficient alpha (α), respectively. We determined convergent and divergent validities of the MBA using correlations with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), observer disfigurement rating, and patients' clinical and demographic variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PCA revealed a coherent set of items that explained 38 % of the variance. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.73 and the Bartlett's test of sphericity was statistically significant (χ (2) (28) = 253.64; p < 0.001), confirming the suitability of the data for dimension reduction analysis. The MBA had good internal consistency reliability (α = 0.77) and demonstrated adequate convergent and divergent validities based on statistically significant moderate correlations with the HADS (p < 0.01) and observer rating of disfigurement (p < 0.026) and nonstatistically significant correlations with patients' clinical and demographic variables: tumor location, age at diagnosis, and birth place (all p (s) > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MBA is a valid and reliable screening measure of body apperception for HNC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1475 NW 12th Avenue, Suite 1500 (D-31), Miami, FL 33136-1002, USA. PJean-Pierre@med.miami.edu
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jean-Pierre
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fundakowski
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Shadae E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Jean-Pierre
authors.forename: Ashley R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Jean-Pierre
authors.forename: Angelica B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Melillo
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Libby
authors.forename: Zoukaa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sargi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult