Ra. Schnoll et al., THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT AND 2 FACTOR STRUCTURESOF THE MENTAL ADJUSTMENT TO CANCER (MAC) SCALE, Psycho-oncology, 4(4), 1995, pp. 265-272
Using two different factor structures for the Mental Adjustment to Can
cer (MAC) scale, the present study examined the relationship between m
ental attitude and emotional adjustment in a sample of 58 cancer patie
nts, Analyses, using the original Watson MAC subscales, showed that: (
a) fighting spirit was associated with better emotional adjustment, wh
ereas hopelessness/helplessness and anxious preoccupation were associa
ted with poor emotional adjustment and (b) subjects with low fighting
spirit, high hopelessness/helplessness and moderate anxious preoccupat
ion also had high levels of emotional distress. Analyses, on the alter
native Schwartz MAC subscales, showed that: (a) positive reappraisal w
as associated with better emotional adjustment, whereas hopelessness w
as associated with poor emotional adjustment and (b) subjects with low
hopelessness, high positive reappraisal, high positive attitude and h
igh vigilant participation also had lower levels of emotional distress
. However, for both factor structures, certain subscales showed a weak
association to mood. Overall, the results validate both MAC factor st
ructures, but highlight the need for additional refinement of the MAC
scale.