. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Apr 26.

Published in final edited form as: Patient Educ Couns. 2023 May 15;114:107791. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.107791

Table 2.

Descriptive statistics for study variables.

			Confirmatory factor analysis				Current patients^a		Former patients

Variable	Potential range	α	χ² (df)^b	RMSEA	CFI	SRMR	M	SD	M	SD

Symptom burden	0–10	.92	1.51 (2)	< .001	1.00	.007	4.52	2.60	3.66	2.40
Illness uncertainty	1–5	.73	–	–	–	–	2.35	.99	2.09	.86
Perceived empathic communication	0–5	.97	13.96 (7)	.057	.997	.008	3.66	1.28	4.06	1.06
Psychological adjustment	1–5	.83	5.18 (3)	.049	.997	.014	3.57	.90	3.89	.79

Note. α = Cronbach’s alpha, composite scales for combined current and former patients; M = mean; SD = standard deviation; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CFI = confirmatory fit index; SRMR = standardized root mean square residual.

Current patients’ mean scores are significantly less favorable than former patients based on one-tailed t-tests at a level p < .01 across all measures (e.g., current patients report more symptom burden, more uncertainty, less empathic communication, worse adjustment).

All χ² values non-significant at a level p > .05.