TRANSLATION AND PSYCHOMETRICS OF THE PERSIAN VERSION OF THE “UNCERTAINTY SCALE FOR KIDS” IN ADOLESCENTS WITH CANCER

Uncertainty in illness, as a psychological stressor in adolescents with cancer, is a
challengeable factor in the care of the children. In order to measure the effectiveness of interventions on
reducing uncertainty, there is a vital need for a valid and reliable instrument. This study was conducted
to translate and localize the Persian version of the “Uncertainty Scale for Kids”, and to examine its
psychometric properties in Iranian adolescents with cancer.
Materials & Methods: The Persian version of the “Uncertainty Scale for Kids” (USK) was validated
based on the model proposed by Wild et al. (2005). The mentioned scale was translated into Persian and
back-translated into English, and revised by the scale designer. Two-hundred adolescents with cancer
were enrolled who attended clinics and oncology wards in Children's Medical Center of Tehran, clinics
and oncology wards in hospitals of Urmia (North West of Iran), Children's Medical Center of Tabriz
(North West of Iran), and the Cancer Research Center of Isfahan (Center of Iran).Then, content and face
validity assessments, construct validity and internal consistency, and reliability of test-retest were
conducted for the Persian version. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20, and AMOS version 21 as
well.
Results: Confirmatory factor analysis of the 22-items “Uncertainty Scale for Kids” demonstrated less
than adequate fit with three subscales, and ultimately the scale fit was improved by removing one item
(No. 18 “I don’t know why (of all people) I got cancer"), and by displacing of another item (No. 17 “I
don’t know if I’ll be better or not”).
Internal consistency reliability was obtained for the “Uncertainty Scale for Kids” (α=0.76) and for each
of the subscales including ignorance, and lack of knowledge (uncertainty) (α=0.72), the inability to
predict (α=0.75), and uncertainty about the meaning of events (α=0.73). In addition, the results of the
calculating Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated between two tests r=0.77 (p <0.001).
Conclusions: The Persian version of the "Uncertainty Scale for Kids”, with 21 items and 3 subscales
has good psychometric indicators. It can be used to evaluate uncertainty in Iranian adolescents with
cancer.