Development and validation of a questionnaire for patient competence in coping with cancer (PCQ)

Development and validation of a questionnaire for patient competence in coping with cancer (PCQ) Objectives: The aim of the study was the development and evaluation of the psychometric properties of a self-assessment questionnaire for resource-orientated coping with cancer (Patient Competence Questionnaire, PCQ). Methods: In 420 patients and members of cancer support-groups item selection and evaluation of item properties, reliability (Cronbach's Alpha), validity (convergent and divergent) and factorial structure were performed in two studies. Results: The final version of the PCQ (18 items) demonstrated a Cronbach's Alpha between 0.71 and 0.91 for five subscales identified with exploratory factor analysis (religious/spiritual coping, coping competence, healthy lifestyle, information seeking, adaptability) and 0.85 for the total score. The PCQ shows a high convergent validity (r = 0.46) with the Freiburg Questionnaire on Coping with Illness (FKV) and significant correlations with depression (r = -0.23), posttraumatic growth (r = 0.65) and religiosity (r = 0.59). Conclusions: First analyses underline that the PCQ can be regarded as a valid and reliable instrument for assessing patients' resources in dealing with cancer.