Reliability and Validity of the Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Stress Scale in the Greek Population

To examine the validity and the reliability of a novel measurement tool, the Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Stress Scale (NDBCSS) in the Greek population. The tool aimed to assess distress in patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer. We performed a principal component analysis (PCA) of the 17 items of the scale. The PCA resulted in 4 factors: 1. Personal life, 2. Procedural issues, 3. Facing challenges and 4. Psychological load. All subscales showed satisfactory internal consistency and variance, relative to theoretical score ranges. Subscale scores and total score were significantly correlated with perceived stress and hospital anxiety and depression scale, implying good criterion validity. Associations with social, demographic and disease related information were also found. The NDBCSS resulted in acceptable reliability and good validity, and was considered as a valuable tool for health-care workers and oncologists to measure psychological distress in early stage of breast cancer.