The Caregivers Quality of Life Cancer index scale (CQoLC): an exploratory factor analysis for validation in French cancer patients’ spouses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Caregivers Quality of Life Cancer index scale (CQoLC) in a sample of spouses of French cancer patients.

The CQoLC, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12 (MOS SF-12) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to 300 spouses aged 21–85 years. Clinical data such as severity of cancer, medical treatment and duration of illness were obtained from a review of medical records.

An exploratory factor analysis yielded a 23-item measure with one factor explaining 38.76% of the variance: labeled impairment of quality of life. The correlations between this factor and MOS SF-12 were negative for the physical component (ρ = −0.351, p < 0.001) and positive for the mental component (ρ = 0.184, p < 0.005). One-way ANOVA with STAI scores indicated good discriminant validity (F[2, 237] = 4.80, p < 0.01, η² = 0.04). Participants with low anxiety had a better quality of life than those with moderate and high anxiety.

The findings indicate that the CQoLC has sufficient validity and reliability to assess the impairment of quality of life in spouses of French cancer patients.