A Chinese version of the chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress scale based on reliability and validity assessment in breast cancer patients

Purpose Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a common and emotionally traumatic side effect on breast cancer patients. In order to make up for the deficiency of measuring tools in China, our study aims at translating the chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress scale (CADS) into Chinese and evaluating the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of CADS (CADS-C) in breast cancer patients. Methods The validity and reliability of CADS-C were measured by a questionnaire survey among 301 breast cancer patients from Chinese mainland. Construct validity was assessed through factor analysis and contrasted group comparisons. The validity of the content was examined by an experts group. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability were evaluated by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results The content validity index was 0.94; a structure with three factors was revealed by exploratory factor analysis which explained 65.40% of the variance and proved by confirmatory factor analysis. The contrasted group comparisons showed significant differences among different degrees of alopecia. The average variance extracted and composite reliability and correlations between CADS and body image, quality of life and self-esteem proved the convergent validity. The Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient of the total scale were 0.90 and 0.89 respectively, indicating satisfactory internal consistency and time stability. Conclusion The scale appears to be a reliable and valid tool to measure chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress among breast cancer patients in China.