Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 19;10(7):100244.
doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2023.100244. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Measure of perceived social support from family, friends, and healthcare providers for Korean adolescents and young adults with cancer

Heeyeon Son  1 , Sungsil Hong  2 , Michin Hong  3 , Susan G Silva  4
Affiliations

Measure of perceived social support from family, friends, and healthcare providers for Korean adolescents and young adults with cancer

Heeyeon Son et al. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. .

Abstract

Objective: Assessing the perceived social support (PSS) that adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer receive from family, friends, and healthcare providers is critical to promoting their adjustment. This study developed a reliable and comprehensive self-report PSS assessment tool that measures various aspects of social support by translating existing measurements into Korean.

Methods: The translation was completed in accordance with international guidelines. To focus on cultural adaptation, the main ideas associated with items were translated to reflect the differences between Western and Eastern culture. In total, 144 Korean AYAs with cancer (mean age: 17 years; 46% female) completed the translated version. A separate principal component analysis (PCA) with an orthogonal quartimax rotation, a minimum eigenvalue of 1.0, and minimum factor loadings of 0.50 was used for each subscale. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated for each PCA-derived subscale.

Results: Four subscales with 46 items were identified. Two subscales represented perceived emotional support within the family (PSS-ESF, 14 items) and the AYA's perceived helpfulness within the family (PSS-HWF, 3 items). The third scale represented the perceived support of friends (PSS-Friends, 14 items). The final scale represented the perceived support of healthcare providers (PSS-HCPs, 15 items). Excellent reliability per subscale was demonstrated (Cronbach's alpha: 0.93 for PSS-ESF, 0.73 for PSS-HWF, and 0.92 each for PSS-Friends and PSS-HCPs).

Conclusions: A culturally adapted and reliable Korean version questionnaire with four independent subscales was developed. Further assessment of the Korean PSS is required and will contribute to the development of culturally adapted and tailored interventions.

Keywords: Adolescents and young adults; Cancer; Perceived social support; Psychometric properties.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors have none to declare.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Scott A.R., Stoltzfus K.C., Tchelebi L.T., et al. Trends in cancer incidence in US adolescents and young adults, 1973–2015. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(12) https://doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.27738 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kwak M., Zebrack B.J., Meeske K.A., et al. Prevalence and predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: a 1-year follow-up study. Psychooncology. 2013;22(8):1798–1806. https://doi:10.1002/pon.3217 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Warner E.L., Kent E.E., Trevino K.M., Parsons H.M., Zebrack B.J., Kirchhoff A.C. Social well-being among adolescents and young adults with cancer: a systematic review. Cancer. 2016;122(7):1029–1037. https://doi:10.1002/cncr.29866 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kim B., White K., Patterson P. Understanding the experiences of adolescents and young adults with cancer: a meta-synthesis. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2016;24:39–53. https://doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2016.06.002 - DOI - PubMed
    1. van Riel C.A., Meijer-van den Bergh E.E., Kemps H.L., et al. Self-perception and quality of life in adolescents during treatment for a primary malignant bone tumour. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2014;18(3):267–272. https://doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2014.01.005 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources