Initial validation of a needs instrument for young people bereaved by familial cancer

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to validate the Bereaved Cancer Needs Instrument (BCNI), an instrument designed to assess the unmet psychosocial needs of adolescents and young adults (AYAs, 12–25 years) who have experienced the death of a parent or sibling to cancer. Methods: In total, 335 participants aged 12 to 25 (M = 15.80, SD = 3.32) who had experienced the death of a parent (N = 297) or sibling (N = 38) from cancer took part in this study. Participants completed the BCNI, the Kessler-10 psychological distress scale (K10), and several items assessing the acceptability of the BCNI. Results: Exploratory factor analysis indicated that a seven-factor structure best fit the BCNI, accounting for 56.65% of the variance in unmet psychosocial needs of cancer-bereaved AYAs. The measure had good psychometric properties, high levels of internal consistency for all domains, and correlated strongly with the K10 (r =.59, p