A POMS short form for cancer patients: psychometric and structural evaluation

Abstract The internal consistency, validity, and factor structure of the Shacham shortened version (37 items) of the 65‐item profile of mood states (POMS) were examined with a sample of 428 cancer patients who were awaiting bone marrow transplantation. Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.78 to 0.91 were obtained for each of the six subscales of the POMS‐short form (POMS‐SF) and for the total 37‐item scale. Correlations with the CES‐D, the Self‐Rated Karnofsky, the MOS SF‐20 Physical Functioning, and the Bradburn Positive and Negative Affect Scales provided evidence of the convergent and discriminant validity of the POMS‐SF. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis were supportive of the 6‐factor interpretation of the POMS items in the 37‐item version of the POMS. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.