The Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale for Breast Cancer (SLDS-BC)

Despite improved overall survival rates, the diagnosis of breast cancer continues to generate fear and turmoil in the lives of many women. All phases related to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery create challenges and problems that patients and survivors must face. Clearly, at the time of diagnosis and during the first phases of treatment, patients experience uncertainty, confusion, and distress. Quality of life (QOL) can be negatively affected by inadequate information, complex decisions, and adverse events related to cancer therapies. As treatment continues, concerns related to physical functioning, body image, mood, sexuality, family, and vocational pursuits quickly emerge. Adjuvant treatments generate additional physiological assaults that further affect body image, sexuality, and family. As women move beyond treatment, the role of patient shifts to that of survivor, with a need for continued focus on overall QOL issues. Throughout this continuum, QOL is a critical factor that must be evaluated and monitored. The Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale for Breast Cancer (SLDS-BC) is a reliable and valid scale that presents a critical opportunity to assess QOL throughout the various phases of patient care. A principal component factor analysis with a varimax rotation identified the following five QOL factors, explaining 70.8% of the variance: social functioning, physical functioning, internal locus of control, spirituality, and communication with medical providers. Cronbach's alpha for the entire scale was 0.93. Test-retest produced r's for each factor ranging from 0.45 to 0.91, with an overall r = 0.70. Concurrent and divergent validity were assessed through the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapies for Breast Cancer (FACT-B) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Significant negative correlations (p < 0.01) were found between the SLDS-BC and the FACT-B as well as the BSI. These results indicated strong concurrent and divergent validity. The SLDS-BC clearly offers a user-friendly format that can briefly and rapidly assess QOL across the breast cancer continuum of care.