The FCR‐1: Initial validation of a single‐item measure of fear of cancer recurrence

Objective Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is characterized by the fear, worry or concern that cancer will come back or progress. The negative effects associated with FCR are consistently identified by cancer survivors as one of their most prominent unmet needs. Current measures of FCR can be long, c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psycho-oncology (Chichester, England) England), 2020-04, Vol.29 (4), p.788-795
Main Authors: Rudy, Lauren, Maheu, Christine, Körner, Annett, Lebel, Sophie, Gélinas, Céline
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breast cancer
Cancer
Clinical research
Convergent validity
Discriminant validity
Fear & phobias
fear of cancer recurrence
oncology
psycho‐oncology
Reassurance
Recurrence
scale development
single‐item measure
Survivor
survivors
Uncertainty
unmet needs
validation
Validation studies
Validity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is characterized by the fear, worry or concern that cancer will come back or progress. The negative effects associated with FCR are consistently identified by cancer survivors as one of their most prominent unmet needs. Current measures of FCR can be long, complex and burdensome for survivors to complete. The objective of the present study is to develop and validate a one‐item measure of FCR. Methods The ability of the FCR‐1 to detect change in FCR over time was analyzed using a repeated‐measures ANOVA and paired‐samples t‐tests. Pearson correlations were used to measure the concurrent, convergent and discriminant validity of the FCR‐1, and a ROC analysis was conducted to determine an optimal clinical cut‐off score. Results The FCR‐1 was found to be responsive to change in FCR over time. It demonstrated concurrent validity with the FCRI (r = .395, P = .010), and convergent validity with the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (r = .493, P = .001) and the Reassurance Questionnaire (r = .325, P = .044). Discriminant validity was confirmed when the FCR‐1 did not significantly correlate with unrelated measures. A ROC analysis pinpointed an optimal clinical cut‐off score of 45.0. Conclusions The FCR‐1 is a promising tool that can be incorporated in clinical and research settings. Due to its brevity, the care needs of highly distressed patients can be met quickly and efficiently. In research settings, the FCR‐1 can reduce the cognitive burden experienced by survivors.
ISSN:1057-9249
1099-1611
DOI:10.1002/pon.5350