title: Breast cancer threat appraisal: design and psychometric analysis of a new scale for older women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prospect of being diagnosed with breast cancer generates emotional responses associated with a high degree of health threat. When considering screening, older women are faced with physical and psychological consequences inherent in considering the threat of disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development and evaluate initial reliability and validity of the Breast Cancer Threat Appraisal Scale (BCTAS), a self-report instrument measuring psychosocial and situational factors related to breast cancer threat appraisal in older women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preliminary survey items for the Breast Cancer Threat Appraisal Scale (BCTAS) were designed using content experts and focus groups and subsequently tested by a sample of older women. Two hundred forty-three (n = 243) complete data sets were submitted to principal components analysis (PCA). Internal consistency reliability and construct validity of resulting factors were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PCA with orthogonal rotation resulted in four components defined by 34 items with loadings of ≥0.40. Internal consistency reliability was evident in all four components (Component # 1 = 0.87, Component # 2 = 0.81, Component # 3 = 0.70 and Component # 4 = 0.72). Correlations between Breast Cancer Fear and total BCTAS (r = 0.29, P < 0.001) and Component # 3 (r = 0.39, P < 0.001) provided partial construct validity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychometric analysis provided initial evidence of reliability for four conceptually meaningful scales and partial construct validity for total score and one factor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using these empirically derived scales may clarify for health providers how older women perceive personal threat of breast cancer and inform collaborative decision-making to foster screening.
authors: William F. Connell School of Nursing Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
authors: Robin Y
authors: RY
authors: Wood
authors: Nola R
authors: NR
authors: Della-Monica
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: cancer; care of older people; health surveillance; quantitative methods; screening; survey; women's health