Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Parenting concerns are unique challenges for many breast cancer patients with children. Therefore, assessing these concerns is a critical step in psycho-oncology care. The Parenting Concerns Questionnaire (PCQ) was developed in the USA in 2012. Due to the lack of a validated tool to measure this concept in Iran, the present study was conducted to translate and determine the psychometric properties of the PCQ in Iranian women with breast cancer. METHODS: The current methodological study was conducted on 346 female Iranian breast cancer patients in 2024. The eligible patients completed a demographic and clinical information questionnaire, translated version of the PCQ, quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ C30), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The psychometric assessment including face validity, content validity were performed. Also, construct validity was done using exploratory factor analysis (n = 176) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 170). Reliability was examined using internal consistency. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 and Amos version 24. RESULTS: The content validity of index (CVI) for all of the items was between 0.8 and 1. Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors, which were accompanied by relocating several items in their dimensions. The result of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the fitness indicators were appropriate (RMSEA: 0.08; NFI: 0.87; CFI: 0.92; IFI: 0.92; GFI 0.88;TLI: 0.90). The convergent validity assessment demonstrated a positive correlation between parenting concerns and anxiety and depression (r = 0.490, r = 0.627, P < 0.001), and a negative correlation with the quality of life (r=-0.477, P < 0.001). The internal consistency of the questionnaire was α = 0.89. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of the PCQ is a valid and reliable tool to analyze the parental concerns among women with breast cancer. It is recommended that healthcare workers use this tool for psychological screenings in oncology clinics and take targeted measures to reduce the psychological burden.