Cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Swedish version of the Reproductive Concerns After Cancer (RCAC) scale
Abstract Background Reproductive concerns are common among young cancer survivors and include worries related to different aspects of fertility and parenthood. The Reproductive Concerns After Cancer (RCAC) scale is an 18-item scale with six dimensions, developed to capture a variety of such concerns. The aim of the present study was to culturally adapt the RCAC scale into Swedish and evaluate its psychometric properties among young women with cancer experience. Methods The RCAC was forward-translated from English into Swedish and assessed for cultural adaptation based on a two-panel approach followed by cognitive interviews with representatives of the target group. For the psychometric evaluation, a Swedish cohort of 181 young adult breast cancer survivors completed a survey including the RCAC scale approximately 1.5 years post-diagnosis. Investigation of the psychometric properties included analyses of construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis and convergent validity), data quality (score distribution, floor and ceiling effects), reliability (Cronbach’s α) and known-groups validity based on current child wish. Results The breast cancer survivors had a mean age of 36.5 (SD 4.1) years and a third of them expressed a current wish for (additional) children. The confirmatory factor analysis yielded a satisfactory fit (RMSEA 0.08, SRMR 0.09, CFI 0.92). Convergent validity was demonstrated by a negative correlation with moderate effect size (-0.361) between the RCAC total score and the emotional functional scale of EORTC QLQ-C30. Reliability was in the acceptable range (α= 0.78-0.92) for four of the dimensions, nearly acceptable for Personal health (α, 0.68) and poor for Becoming pregnant (α= 0.54). Known-groups validity was indicated by significantly higher RCAC mean score differences (MD), reflecting more concerns, among women with a certain (MD 4.56 [95% CI 3.13 to 5.99]) or uncertain (MD 3.41 [95% CI 1.68 to 5.14]) child wish, compared to those with no wish for (additional) children. Conclusion The Swedish RCAC scale demonstrated satisfactory reproducibility of the original RCAC scale with acceptable convergent and known-groups validity, but satisfactory reliability was not achieved for all dimensions. The Swedish RCAC scale exhibits adequate psychometric properties and could be useful for assessment of reproductive concerns in young adult female cancer survivors in Sweden.