Table 2.
Exploratory factory analysis of the CAI (n = 410)
| Item | Factor 1 | Factor2 | Factor3 | Factor4 | Factor5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. People with cancer just waste away | .725 | .243 | .067 | .195 | .272 |
| 23. Cancer is almost always terminal | .716 | .174 | .212 | .196 | .195 |
| 25. Having cancer usually ruins one’s career | .708 | .220 | .183 | .180 | .106 |
| 26. Cancer is a topic most people want to avoid. | .708 | .100 | .228 | .166 | .114 |
| 18. If someone I loved had cancer, it would be difficult for me to talk to him/her about their experiences with the disease | .703 | .186 | .095 | .230 | .277 |
| 38. Cancer usually ruins close personal relationship | .703 | .147 | .195 | .201 | .169 |
| 33. Having cancer permanently changes your whole life | .702 | .215 | .257 | .102 | .077 |
| 36. A person with cancer is helpless | .698 | .121 | .292 | .152 | .097 |
| 13. Cancer can ruin a family | .679 | .287 | .261 | .125 | .126 |
| 39. Cancer devasted the lives of those it touches | .672 | .168 | .010 | .104 | .209 |
| 12. People with cancer don’t want to talk much about their experiences with the disease | .523 | .342 | .358 | .367 | −.110 |
| 2. People with cancer don’t want others to know they have the disease | .483 | .369 | .300 | .411 | −.155 |
| 6. Getting cancer would be one of the two or three worst things that could happen to me in my life | .226 | .772 | −.005 | .146 | .096 |
| 15. A person is never really “cured” of cancer | .227 | .762 | .114 | .114 | .235 |
| 16. Compared with other diseases, there is something uniquely sinister (evil) about cancer | .150 | .752 | .175 | .098 | .236 |
| 5. Cancer usually means financial ruin for patients and their families | .167 | .735 | .157 | .129 | .041 |
| 28. Long term survival (more than 7 years) of cancer is a rare event | .153 | .710 | .207 | .167 | .187 |
| 10. Cancer is an unpredictable disease | .164 | .689 | .206 | .043 | .197 |
| 30. Cancer almost always results in some kind of disfigurement | .212 | .688 | .272 | .239 | .106 |
| 29. Cancer almost always means severe pain | .184 | .685 | .257 | .232 | .121 |
| 11. If I had to choose, I would rather have diabetes than cancer | .172 | .633 | .236 | .014 | .162 |
| 41. Cancer is an ugly disease | .136 | .547 | .361 | .310 | .046 |
| 31. If I had to choose, I would rather have heart disease than cancer | .092 | .541 | .255 | .259 | −.009 |
| 1. I worry a lot about getting cancer | .260 | .298 | .706 | .134 | .173 |
| 22. It makes me uncomfortable to think about cancer | .248 | .160 | .670 | .165 | .129 |
| 4. Cancer is more frightening than most other diseases | .196 | .354 | .639 | .133 | .119 |
| 34. The word “cancer” makes my skin crawl | .286 | .350 | .634 | .159 | .164 |
| 17. Of all the diseases I would be likely to get, I am most afraid of cancer | .276 | .261 | .585 | .205 | .224 |
| 24. Cancer is more frightening than heart disease | .220 | .197 | .511 | .119 | .359 |
| 21. Having cancer can give new meaning to life | .092 | .134 | .169 | .662 | .360 |
| 20. One day soon there will be a cure for cancer | .137 | .085 | .127 | .656 | .367 |
| 27. People who have been cured of cancer are no different from people who have never had the disease | .291 | .186 | .206 | .627 | .141 |
| 37. A person who has had cancer can live a fully satisfying life | .442 | .295 | .165 | .614 | .014 |
| 3. Positive things can be gain from having cancer | .229 | .237 | .278 | .580 | .259 |
| 40. The world can learn a lot from people who have or have had cancer | .342 | .197 | .031 | .556 | −.092 |
| 35. Having cancer provides a person with a unique opportunity for personal growth | .389 | .184 | .051 | .497 | .164 |
| 19. Getting cancer means having to mentally prepare oneself for death | .258 | .260 | .195 | .238 | .687 |
| 32. It is depressing to be around someone with cancer | .270 | .316 | .195 | .221 | .632 |
| 9. Once you’ve had cancer, you can never be “normal” again | .321 | .341 | .317 | .182 | .568 |
| 8. For the most part a diagnosis of cancer is the death sentences | .287 | .370 | .390 | .240 | .494 |
| 7. People with cancer usually develop psychological problems | .279 | .308 | .426 | .132 | .465 |
Note: Figures in bold are related to factor loadings equal to or greater than 0.40
*Items 3, 20, 21, 27, 35, 37, and 40 are reversed scored