Psychosocial Screening of Cancer Patients

Abstract

This article decscribes the development and validation of a screening instrument for predicting the level of emotional distress that newly diagnosed canccr patients may experience two to six months after the diagnosis. Thc initial evaluation consisted of a semistructured interview, psychological testing, and the use of rating scales with 120 paitients at the Massachusetts General Hospital. A multiple regression analysis was used to identify the best predictors of emotional distress. After the instrument was developed and calibrated, it was revalidated in a subsequent study of 381 patients, 86 percent of whom were correctly identified. The limitations and clinical usefulness of this approach are discussed.