Psychometric properties and performance of the 17-item Benefit Finding Scale (BFS) in an outpatient population of men with prostate cancer

PurposeTo analyse the psychometric properties and performance of the 17-item Benefit Finding Scale (BFS) in an Australian outpatient sample of men with prostate cancer.MethodsThe instrument's psychometric properties and performance were rated against established criteria for reliability (internal consistency), construct validity (instrument dimensionality) and variability (floor and ceiling effects).ResultsInternal consistency reliability was satisfactory as evidenced by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95 Dimensionality analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure indicating construct validity. A greater than 15% floor effect suggested limited data variability.ConclusionThe 17-item BFS seems to have satisfactory psychometric properties for use in an outpatient sample of men with prostate cancer, with some questions regarding detection of variability. The high internal consistency reliability points to the instruments ability to reliably capture the benefit finding construct in this population. The evidence for instrument dimensionality indicates a unidimensional scale, and thus a calculation of a single total score can be recommended. The >15% floor effect suggests that there may be issues with the instrument's ability to detect variance, and thus some questions remain regarding the instrument's ability to discern change in health status over time. Nevertheless, the findings of this study together with previous evidence indicate that the 17-item BFS can be recommended as the tool of choice when exploring benefit finding in adult cancer populations.