Reliability and validity of a Japanese version of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool for families of children with cancer

概要

Background: Childhood cancer is the leading cause of child death in many developed countries, including Japan. Patients with childhood cancer and their families frequently experience psychosocial distress associated with cancer and its treatment. We thus examined the reliability and validity of a Japanese version of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (J-PAT 2.0), which was designed to screen for psychosocial risk factors among families of children with cancer.

Methods: Forward-backward translation was used to develop the J-PAT 2.0. We conducted a cross-sectional study. Mothers (N = 117), who were the primary caregivers of children with cancer, completed the J-PAT 2.0 and other measures to establish validity. The internal consistency and two-week test-retest reliability of the J-PAT 2.0 were also examined.

Results: The internal consistency of the J-PAT 2.0 total score was sufficient (Kuder- Richardson 20 coefficient [KR20] = 0.84); however, the subscales “structure and resources,” “stress reactions,” and “family beliefs” were less than optimal (KR20s = 0.03, 0.49, and 0.49, respectively). The test-retest reliability for the J-PAT 2.0 total score was sufficient (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.92). Significant correlations with the criteria measures indicated the validity of the J-PAT 2.0 total score. The optimal cut-off score for screening mothers with high psychosocial risk was 0.9/1.0, which was associated with 92% sensitivity and 63% specificity.

Conclusions: This study indicated that the J-PAT 2.0 is a valid and reliable tool to screen mothers for elevated distress.