Validation of the Chinese version of the Cognitive Symptom Checklist-Work-21 in breast cancer survivors

Purpose The purpose of this study was to translate the Cognitive Symptom Checklist-Work-21 (CSC-W21), into Chinese, and culturally adapt and validate the Chinese version, a measure of work-related cognitive limitations in occupationally active breast cancer survivors (BCS). Methods The translation of the English version of the CSC-W21 followed a systematic procedure. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify factor structures. The internal consistency of the factors was assessed by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients. Item- and scale-level content validity was determined. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze test–retest reliability. A total of two hundred and twenty BCS participated in the psychometric testing of the CSC-W21-C. The construct validity of the total score of the CSC-W21-C was determined through convergent validity and an analysis of its relationship with the four subscales of the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ), a measure of four types of job task difficulties. Results The CSC-W21-C demonstrated item- and scale-level content validity (>.80). The factor structure of the CSC-W21-C was similar to the original English version. The internal consistency of the subscales of the CSC-W21-C ranged from.84 to.95. The ICC was between.80 and.96 indicating good test–retest reliability. The CSC-W21-C was significantly correlated with the WLQ, particularly the mental-interpersonal subscale, where it accounted for 27.3 % of the total variance. Conclusions The findings indicate that the CSC-W21-C has sound measurement properties that strongly suggest it can be used in future assessment and intervention research to identify cognitive limitations related to specific work tasks in BCS.