Development, confirmation, and validation of a measure of coping with colorectal cancer: a longitudinal investigation

Objective: This longitudinal study developed and confirmed the factor structure of the 32‐item Coping with Colorectal Cancer (CCRC) measure. Reliability and validity of the measure were also assessed. Methods: Participants were 1800 individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC). A written questionnaire and a telephone interview were completed at 5 (Time 1) and 12 months post‐diagnosis (Time 2). Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed eight mostly empirically distinct subscales: Positive Perceptual Change, Religion/Spirituality, Rumination, Acceptance, Humour, Palliative, Seeking Social Support, and Lifestyle Reorganisation. Internal reliabilities were adequate and comparable to other coping measures, and test–retest analyses showed moderate temporal stability of the subscales. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal regression analyses were conducted to establish criterion‐related validity. As hypothesised, after controlling for demographics, disease/treatment, and stress/coping variables, regression analyses showed that CCRC subscales uniquely predicted Time 1 quality of life (QOL) outcomes (positive affect, cancer‐related QOL, psychological distress). After controlling for Time 1 QOL, Seeking Social Support coping continued to predict Time 2 positive affect. Conclusions: Results demonstrated the preliminary validity and reliability of the CCRC subscales, and have extended the cancer coping research by revealing new relations between coping subscales and QOL in a mixed‐gender, older population with CRC. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.