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Research Article: Development and Psychometric Validation of the Breast Cancer Stigma Assessment Scale for Women with Breast Cancer and Its Survivors

Date Published: 2024-02-06

Abstract:
Background: The increase in breast cancer cases and breast cancer survival makes it advisable to quantify the impact of the health-related stigma of this disease. Purpose/Objectives: To develop and validate a breast cancer stigma scale in Spanish. Methods: Women diagnosed with, or survivors of, breast cancer were included. The development of the Breast Cancer Stigma Assessment Scale (BCSAS) involved both a literature review and personal interviews. Content validity was assessed using a Delphi study and a pilot test; construct validity was evaluated using an exploratory factor analysis; and convergent validity was assessed using six scales. Cronbach’s ? internal consistency and test-retest reliability were used to determine the reliability of the scales. Results: 231 women responded to the 28-item scale. The BCSAS showed good reliability, with ? = 0.897. Seven factors emerged: concealment (? = 0.765), disturbance (? = 0.772), internalized stigma (? = 0.750), aesthetics (? = 0.779), course (? = 0.599), danger (? = 0.502), and origin (? = 0.350). The test-retest reliability was 0.830 (p < 0.001). Significant correlation was observed with event centrality (r = 0.701), anxiety–depression (r = 0.668), shame (r = 0.645), guilt (r = 0.524), and quality of life (r = ?0.545). Conclusions: The BCSAS is a reliable and valid measure of stigma in women with breast cancer and its survivors. It could be useful for detecting stigma risk and establishing psychotherapeutic and care priorities.

Introduction:
Breast cancer, particularly female breast cancer (FBC), is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world [1], and has the highest incidence, as well as the greatest number of years lived with disability rate in Europe [2], with an estimated 35,000 new cases predicted in Spain by 2023 [3]. Additionally, the number of cases is expected to increase. But survival has also increased to 86% worldwide and to 90.6% in Spain [3]; this implies that more and more women will suffer from breast cancer and survive it, thus…

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