Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T14:16:45.975Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Development of a questionnaire measure of adjustment to cancer: the MAC scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

M. Watson ,
S. Greer ,
J. Young ,
Q. Inayat ,
C. Burgess  and
B. Robertson
M. Watson*
Affiliation:
Cancer Research Campaign Psychological Medicine Research Group and Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey; Faith Courtauld Unit, The Rayne Institute, King's College Hospital, London
S. Greer
Affiliation:
Cancer Research Campaign Psychological Medicine Research Group and Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey; Faith Courtauld Unit, The Rayne Institute, King's College Hospital, London
J. Young
Affiliation:
Cancer Research Campaign Psychological Medicine Research Group and Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey; Faith Courtauld Unit, The Rayne Institute, King's College Hospital, London
Q. Inayat
Affiliation:
Cancer Research Campaign Psychological Medicine Research Group and Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey; Faith Courtauld Unit, The Rayne Institute, King's College Hospital, London
C. Burgess
Affiliation:
Cancer Research Campaign Psychological Medicine Research Group and Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey; Faith Courtauld Unit, The Rayne Institute, King's College Hospital, London
B. Robertson
Affiliation:
Cancer Research Campaign Psychological Medicine Research Group and Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey; Faith Courtauld Unit, The Rayne Institute, King's College Hospital, London
*
1Address for correspondence: DrM. Watson, CRC Psychological Medicine Group, The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

This paper describes the development of a self-rating scale to measure adjustment to cancer. The Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scale has been completed by 235 patients with various types and stages of cancer. It is easily understood by, and acceptable to, patients. Data relating to reliability and internal consistency indicate that the MAC scale is a valuable research tool for clinical studies of patients' psychological adjustment to cancer.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 1988 , pp. 203 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altmaier, E. M., Ross, W. E. & Moore, K. (1982). A pilot investigation of psychologic functioning of patients with anticipatory vomiting. Cancer 49, 201–204.3.0.CO;2-X>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burton, M V. & Parker, R. W. (1987). A randomised controlled trial of preoperative psychological preparation for mastectomy. In Psychosocial Oncology (ed. Watson, M., Greer, S., and Thomas, C.), Pergamon Press: Oxford. (In the press.)Google Scholar
Cassileth, B. R., Lusk, E. J., Miller, D. S., Brown, L. L. & Miller, C. (1985). Psychological correlates of survival in advanced malignant disease? New England Journal of Medicine 312, 1551–1555CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Child, D. (1970). The Essentials of Factor Analysis, Holt, Rinehart & Winston London.Google Scholar
Cohen, F. & Lazarus, R. S. (1979). Coping with the stresses of illness. In Health Psychology (ed. Stone, G. C.Cohen, F., and Adler, N. E.), pp. 217–254. Jossey-Bass: New York.Google Scholar
Derogatis, L R., Morrow, G. R., Fetting, J., Penman, D., Piasetsky, S., Schmale, A. M., Henricks, M. & Counicke, C. L. (1983) The prevalence of psychiatric disorders among cancer patients. Journal of the American Medical Association 249, 751–757.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Di Clemente, R. J. & Temoshok, L. (1985). Psychological adjustment to having cutaneous malignant melanoma as a predictor of followup clinical status. Psychosomatic Medicine 47, 81Google Scholar
Greer, S. (1985). Cancer: psychiatric aspects. In Recent Advances in Clinical Psychiatry (ed. Granville-Grossman, K.), pp. 87–104. Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Greer, S., Morris, T. & Pettingale, K. W. (1979). Psychological response to breast cancer: effect on outcome. Lancet ii, 785–787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greer, S. & Watson, M (1987). Mental adjustment to cancer: its measurement and prognostic importance. Cancer Surveys. (In the press.)Google ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D. (1978). Manual of the General Health Questionnaire, NFER. Nelson: Windsor.Google Scholar
Katz, J. L., Weiner, H., Gallagher, T. F. & Hellman, L. (1970). Stress, distress and ego defences: psychoendoerine responses to impending breast tumour biopsy Archives of General Psychiatry 23, 131–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCrae, R. R. (1984). Situational determinants of coping responses: loss, threat and challenge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 919–925.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McIntosh, J. (1974). Processes of communication information seeking and control associated with cancer: a selective review of the literature. Social Science & Medicine 8, 167–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mischel, W. (1986). Introduction to Personality (fourth edn). C.B.S. College Publishing: New York.Google Scholar
Morris, T., Blake, S. & Buckley, M. (1985). Development of a method for rating cognitive responses to a diagnosis of cancer. Social Science and Medicine 20, 795–802.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, T., Greer, S. & White, P. (1977). Psychological and social adjustment to mastectomy: a two-year follow-up study. Cancer 40, 2381–23873.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nerenz, D. R., Leventhal, H. & Love, R. R. (1982). Factors contributing to emotional distress during cancer chemotherapy. Cancer 50, 1020–1027.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Novack, D. H., Plumer, R., Smith, R. L., Ochitill, H., Morrow, G. R. & Bennett, J. M. (1979) Changes in physicians' attitudes towards telling the cancer patient. Journal of the American Medical Association 241, (9), 897–900.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oken, D (1961). What to tell cancer patients a study of medical attitudes. Journal of the American Medical Association 175, 1120–1128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pettingale, K. W., Morris, T., Greer, S. & Haybittle, J L. (1985). Mental attitudes to cancer: an additional prognostic factor. Lancet 1, 750.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M. (1985). Resilience in the face of adversity. British Journal of Psychiatry 147, 598–611.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: on Depression, Development and Death. Freeman: San Francisco.Google Scholar
Snaith, R. P. (1987). The concepts and assessment of depression in oncology. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology. (In the press.)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, M., Greer, S, Blake, S. & Shrapnell, K. (1984). Reaction to diagnosis of breast cancer – relationship between denial, delay and rates of psychological morbidity. Cancer 53, 2008–20123.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weisman, A D. & Worden, J W (1977). Coping and Vulnerability in Cancer Patients. Privately published research report: Boston, Mass.Google Scholar
Wing, J K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartonus, N. (1974). Present State Examination (ninth edn). Medical Research Council: London.Google Scholar
Zigmond, A. S & Snaith, R D. (1983) The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia 67, 361–370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed