Development and Preliminary Validation of a Multidimensional Psychosocial Assessment Strategy for Young Adults With Cancer

Meghan E McGrady; Constance A Mara; Sarah J Beal; Sherilynn F Chan; Caryn E Sorge; Ahna L H Pai

doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsac032

Development and Preliminary Validation of a Multidimensional Psychosocial Assessment Strategy for Young Adults With Cancer

J Pediatr Psychol. 2022 Aug 12;47(8):952-963. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsac032.

Authors

Meghan E McGrady^{1

2}, Constance A Mara^{2

3}, Sarah J Beal^{2

3}, Sherilynn F Chan^{1

2}, Caryn E Sorge⁴, Ahna L H Pai^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology; Patient and Family Wellness Center, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, USA.
³ Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, USA.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology Oncology, University of Kentucky, USA.

PMID: 35380687
DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsac032

Abstract

Objective: Regular psychosocial assessment is a best-practice guideline for young adult oncology care, but multipurpose, multidimensional, developmentally appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement strategies for young adults with cancer are lacking. This study reported on the development and preliminary validation of the Young Adult Psychosocial Assessment Strategy (YA-PAS), a tool designed to meet this clinical need.

Methods: The YA-PAS was developed based on the literature and clinician feedback. 20 young adults with cancer participated in cognitive interviews to provide feedback on complexity, readability, and applicability to inform measure refinement. Following refinements, 100 young adults with a history of cancer participated in an observational study including a preliminary evaluation of YA-PAS factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct and criterion validity, feasibility, and acceptability.

Results: Cognitive interviews and psychometric evaluation informed modifications and resulted in a measure with 9 domains (anxiety, depression, cognitive functioning, post-traumatic stress, family stressors, support, social isolation, self-efficacy for symptom management, and self-efficacy for medication management) and nonscoring items assessing substance use, life stressors, resources, educational/vocational status, and relationship status. 8 of 9 domains demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α ≥ 0.70), substantial (r = 0.61-0.80) or almost perfect (r > 0.80) test-retest reliability, and evidence of domain and cut-point validity. 89% of participants were able to complete the YA-PAS within 20 min and 87% were satisfied with the measure.

Conclusions: The YA-PAS demonstrated promising psychometric properties, feasibility, and acceptability. Clinical implications and research recommendations are discussed.

Keywords: cancer; patient-reported outcome measures; psychosocial functioning; young adult.

Publication types

Observational Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Neoplasms* / psychology
Neoplasms* / therapy
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Personal Satisfaction
Psychometrics
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult