Development and validation of a sexual relations satisfaction scale in patients with breast cancer - "SEXSAT-Q"

• Published in: Health and quality of life outcomes Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 143
• Main Authors: Mancha, Rosario González, Muñoz, Montserrat, de la Cruz-Merino, Luis, Calvo, Lourdes, Cruz, Josefina, Baena-Cañada, Jose Manuel, Fernandez, Yolanda, Ramos, Manuel, Rodriguez, Cesar Augusto, Chacón, Jose Ignacio, Palomero, Isabel, Llinares, Julia, Rivero, María, Ruiz, Miguel Ángel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 17.08.2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adjuvant chemotherapy; Body image; Breast; Breast cancer; Breast reconstruction; Cancer; Cancer metastasis; Cancer patients; Chemotherapy; Diagnosis; Dysfunction; Evaluation; Generic drugs; Health aspects; Patient satisfaction; Questionnaire; Satisfaction; Satisfaction (Psychology); Sexual; Sexual behavior; Sexual disorders; Sexual excitement; Sexuality; Social aspects; Surgery; Women; Spain; Breast; Questionnaire; Sexual; Dysfunction; Satisfaction; Cancer
• ISSN: 1477-7525; 1477-7525
• DOI: 10.1186/s12955-019-1197-7

Because the currently available questionnaires to evaluate sexual changes on breast cancer women only address the sexual sphere with a few questions our purpose was to develop a questionnaire that assesses changes in sexual dysfunction and satisfaction in women treated for breast cancer. A sample was selected of women aged between 18 and 65 who had had surgery for breast cancer, completed neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy treatment and could be receiving adjuvant hormonal treatment, with an active sex life at least 3 months before starting treatment. Metastatic disease was excluded. A questionnaire structured in 4 dimensions was developed. The MOS SF-12 and QLQ-BR23 questionnaires were also provided. The following metric properties were evaluated: item analysis; internal consistency; temporal stability; construct validity; concurrent, convergent and divergent validity; and feasibility. Three samples were recruited: a pilot sample of 20; a reduction sample of 152; and a validation sample of 148. The presence of 6 dimensions was confirmed: 1) Loss of sex drive; 2) worsening of body image; 3) psychological coping; 4) discomfort during intercourse; 5) satisfaction with sexual relations; and 6) satisfaction with breast reconstruction. Good goodness-of-fit statistics were obtained (χ /df = 1.5, GFI = 0.9, AGFI = 0.84, CFI = 0.959, RMSEA = 0.062). Reliability was good (α = 0.855), as was test-retest stability (r = 0.838). The correlation with the convergent questionnaires proved to be higher than that obtained with generic measurements. We were able to develop a short questionnaire (17 items) capable of measuring sexual satisfaction in women with breast cancer with good metric properties.