Turkish Validity and Reliability Study of Psychosocial Assessment Tool Oncology Version

Children diagnosed with cancer and their families may not be able to overcome the effects of cancer diagnosis. Because there may be risk factors for some psychosocial problems. It is important to evaluate these risk factors and plan early interventions for risks such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and cessation of treatment. Psychosocial Assessment Tool was adapted to many languages. This study aimed to conduct the Turkish language adaptation of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool oncology version in families of 2- to 18-year-old children with newly diagnosed cancer.

The steps used in the cultural adaptation of the scale were content validity, construct validity, criterion-related validity, surface validity, standard deviation and item analysis, internal consistency analysis, and test-retest reliability. We used the following scales for receiver operating characteristic analysis and correlations: the Pediatric Quality of Life Scale, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, and Negative Problem Orientation Questionnaire.

The reliability of Psychosocial Assessment Tool was strong [Kuder Richardson-20: 0.84], and the KR-20 values of the subdimensions ranged from 0.524 to 0.798. The Psychosocial Assessment Tool was moderately correlated with Pediatric Quality of Life Scale and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. Most families (49.4%) were classified in medium-risk category (targeted), 34.9% in low-risk category (universal), and 15.7% in high-risk category (clinical).

The study confirms that the Turkish version of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool is a valid and reliable scale and could be used in pediatric oncology units for psychosocial evaluation and interventions in families of children with cancer.