Assessment of socio-relational self-efficacy in breast cancer patients: Italian validation of the social relationship coping efficacy scale (SRCE-I)

Abstract

Background: Social relationship coping efficacy (SRCE) represents the ability to maintain or enhance social relationships in the context of serious illness. The purpose of the current study was to confirm the factor structure, psychometric properties, and utility of the Italian version of the SRCE scale. Methods: 181 breast cancer patients completed the SRCE-Italian (SRCE-I), the Cancer Behavior Inventory–Brief/Italian (CBI–B/I), quality of life (QOL) measures (EORTC QLQ-C30; EORTC QLQ-BR23), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: The SRCE-I was internally consistent (Cronbach alpha =.95) and factor analysis confirmed that the SRCE-I was a unidimensional construct. In terms of validity, the SRCE-I was correlated with QOL (EORTC QLQ-30, Social Functioning, r =.33, Emotional Functioning, r =.57, and Global Health/Quality of Life; r =.54) and scales of the EORTC QLQ-BR23 (e.g., Future Perspective, r =.38; Breast Symptoms, −.31). SRCE-I was also correlated negatively with the HADS (r = −.72) and positively with the CBI–B/I (r =.79), a measure of coping efficacy (all ps