The Cancer and Deity Questionnaire: A New Religion and Cancer Measure

Abstract

We evaluated a new measure, the Cancer and Deity Questionnaire (CDQ), which assesses perceived relations with God after a cancer diagnosis. Based on object relations theory, the 12-item CDQ assesses benevolent and abandoning God representations. Sixty-one older participants with recent cancer diagnoses completed the questionnaire at baseline, and 52 of these participants completed the same questionnaire at follow-up. Internal consistency was excellent for the Benevolence scale (α = .97) and good for the Abandonment scale (α = .80). Moderate correlations with the Spiritual Well-Being Scale support divergent validity. Correlations between CDQ scales and the Styles of Religious Coping scales support convergent validity. The CDQ is brief, easily scored, practical for psycho-oncology research, and adaptable for use with other illnesses.

KEYWORDS:

• cancer
• oncology
• religion
• spirituality
• God
• instrument

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Erratum

This project was supported by a grant to the first author from the Fetzer Foundation. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Eric Burns of Stanford University, John Bryan, LCSW, formerly of Indiana University Cancer Center, and Carol Power of Indiana University Department of Psychiatry in completing this study.

Notes

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