Developing the Breast Cancer Self-Efficacy Scale for Partners (BCSES-P)

Compared to partners of healthy women, partners of breast cancer survivors (BCS) are at an increased risk of affective disorders, including depression and anxiety;1 are more likely to report antidepressant use for up to 14 years after their partners' diagnosis and treatment; and more likely to report lower vitality and more quality of life deficits.2 Despite these significant negative health outcomes, partners of BCS have rarely been studied and factors that contribute to their QoL have not been identified. Because these factors would serve as targets of interventions to improve well-being in this population, this represents a significant gap.

In BCS, self-efficacy, one's belief in one's ability to handle a situation, is positively related to quality of life (QoL) and has a protective effect against psychological morbidity.5 In this population, self-efficacy is an important predictor of a wide range of outcomes including: attention function, anxiety, depression, marital satisfaction, sexuality, self-esteem,6 fear of recurrence,7 subjective memory impairment, physical activity,8 health behaviors,9 and satisfaction with healthcare provider communication.7 Given the importance of self-efficacy in predicting QoL and health outcomes of BCS, it is reasonable to hypothesize that self-efficacy in partners is associated with these factors as well. However, without a scale to measure partners' cancer-related self-efficacy, this hypothesis cannot be tested and our ability to build theoretically based interventions to fully address partners' QoL is severely limited.

Previous studies measuring partners' self-efficacy have utilized generic self-efficacy scales that fail to address the unique challenges and experiences that partners of BCS face. For other types of cancer (e.g., prostate), partner self-efficacy scales have been adapted from survivors. Because existing scales do not target the unique experience of being partnered with a BCS, a valid and reliable scale to measure self-efficacy in this population is needed.

Furthermore, a theoretical framework for testing construct validity is needed. Ferrell and Dow's Quality of Life Model will provide the theoretical foundation for the Breast Cancer Self-Efficacy Scale for Partners (BCSES-P).

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop and psychometrically test the Breast Cancer Self-Efficacy Scale for Partners (BCSES-P). The specific aims are as follows: