「失志」(demoralization) 常見於癌症或重症病人，是一種存在的痛苦以及失去生命的意義之現象。失志症候群(demoralization syndrome) 的表現與美國精神醫學會診斷準則之重度憂鬱症標準有所不同，但病人卻深受其苦。在本研究中，我們將失志量表中文化，並測試其信效度。失志量表中文版由專家翻譯，讓不同分期的門診癌診病人完成填表。我們排除了簡易
智能狀態測驗(MMSE) 小於24 分的認知障礙者，以及不願意配合會談、無法讀中文、精神
病、及智能不足之病患。完成後的資料由SPSS 14.0 版本做其信效度檢測。本研究總共214
人完成問卷填答。失志量表中文版之主成分分析，與原始量表相同，可萃取出五個面向；亦
具有可接受之信度，其Cronbach’s alpha 值為0.928。以Pearson’s 相關性去檢測，可發現失志量表與貝克絕望感量表呈高度正相關(γ=0.703, p<0.001)，與McGill 生活品質量表呈負相關(γ=-0.680, p<0.001)。本研究結果可以支持失志量表中文版之信、效度。另外，高失志、低憂鬱的病人占23.4%。失志症候群不止見於西方的癌症病人，在本土族群亦為一常見之症狀。失志量表中文版將可以廣泛應用於臨床服務或研究，使癌症病人照護更完善。

Demoralization indicates one phenomenon about existential distress and loss of meaning in life when the people suffering from cancer or advanced diseases. The expressions of demoralization syndrome do not meet the
DSM-IV criteria of major depressive disorder, though patients were truly exhausted by demoralization. In the study,we tested the validity and reliability of Mandarin Version of Demoralization Scale (DS-MV). DS-MV was translated by professionals, and was completed by outpatients with cancer of different stages. We excluded patients who had cognitive impairment with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) under 24, unwilling for interview, inability to read Chinese, psychosis, or mental retardation. All the data were analyzed by using SPSS 14.0 to test the validity and reliability. There were 214 patients completed the questionnaire. The principle components analysis of the DS-MV yielded 5 factors as the DS. The DS-MV has acceptable reliability with Cronbach’s alpha 0.928, and the internal reliability is acceptable with the Cronbach’s alphas in the range of 0.63 to 0.85. The Pearson’s correlation shows positive correlation (g=0.703, p<0.001) between DS-MV and Beck Hopelessness Scale, and negative correlation (g=- 0.680, p<0.001) between DS-MV and McGill quality of lifequestionnaire. There were 23.4% patients with lower depression but higher demoralization. Our study support DS-MV as a valid and reliable self-report questionnaire for Taiwanese cancer patients. From this study, we can realize that demoralization in cancer patients is not only seen in Western society, but also seen in Taiwanese groups. DS-MV will be broadly used for clinical service and research to make cancer care better.