Abstract
PURPOSE
To validate the instrument Body Image Relationship Scale (BIRS) for Brazilian women with breast cancer
METHODS
The instrument was administered by trained interviewers to 139 women who used the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). All of them had been submitted to cancer treatments between 2006 and 2010. The instrument was validated considering internal consistency and reliability. In order to compare the techniques, the same factorial analysis as used in the original paper was carried out
RESULTS
The Spearman-Brown correlation value was 0.8, indicating high internal reliability. The Cronbach's alpha found was 0.9, indicating a high level of internal consistency. Factorial analysis showed that four items had low factorial load and no discriminatory power, and another five items were relocated to other factors. When the instrument was applied, it showed variability to that of the original instrument
CONCLUSION
The Brazilian version of the Body Image Relationship Scale (BIRS), namedEscala de Relacionamento e Imagem Corporal (ERIC), showed evidence of adequate reliability and internal consistency, making this instrument suitable to be recommended for application to Brazilian women with breast cancer, despite some limitations.
Keywords:
Breast neoplasms; Body image; Reproducibility of results; Validation studies
