Body Acceptance Scale for Women with Breast Cancer: Development and Validation of a Measurement

Breast cancer and its treatment result in drastic physical changes that can negatively affect a woman's body image. Body acceptance in women with breast cancer is crucial in enhancing their body image and overall quality of life. Despite its significance, there are currently no specific tools to measure body acceptance among cancer patients. This study aimed to develop a Body Acceptance Scale for Women with Breast Cancer (BAS-BC).

The scale's initial items were generated based on a conceptual framework of body acceptance and were reviewed by three clinical and five experiential experts. A preliminary instrument was developed through a content validity assessment by six clinical experts and a pilot test with 20 women with breast cancer. Validity and reliability were evaluated via an online survey of 411 women who had undergone breast cancer surgery.

The scale consists of 17 items across six factors (encountering, understanding, adaptation, return to daily life, successful transition, and leap into the future). The scale's validity-including construct validity, cross-validity, known-groups validity, and criterion validity-was satisfactory, exhibiting a Cronbach α of .91. The BAS-BC demonstrated good validity and reliability.

The BAS-BC will contribute to improving the quality of life of female breast cancer survivors by providing fundamental information for future research. The BAS-BC may enable nurses to provide tailored interventions to promote body acceptance.