Positive Aspects of Caregiving Questionnaire

Abstract

Objective: The potential role of positive aspects of caregiving in enhancing caregivers' health is an important issue. The aim of this study was to develop and validate Positive Aspects of Caregiving Questionnaire (PACQ) in caregivers of patients with dementia in Iran.

Methods: Content validation process was used to content valid development. Cronbach α and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated as reliability indices. We used exploratory factor analysis to extract potential latent factors and evaluate the factor structure of PACQ. We assess correlation between PACQ and caregiver burden for divergent validity. For convergent validity, correlation between PACQ and self-rated health was specified.

Results: Content validity indices (CVIs), internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were CVI > 0.80, α = 0.785, and ICC = 0.905, respectively. Moreover, item-total correlations confirmed good reliability of PACQ. Two factors were identified by factor analysis in this 10-item measure: patient and caregiver relationship and caregiver's psychological well-being. Divergent validity and convergent validity were established by high negative correlation between positive aspect of caregiving (PAC) and caregiver burden along with significant positive correlation between PAC and self-rated health, respectively. While Cronbach α for the entire scale was 0.785, Cronbach αs for both of the scale components were 0.71.

Conclusion: The PACQ demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties of reliability and performs well in preliminary tests of validity as a measure of positive aspects of caregiving. This measure can be used to determine the outcome of interventional programs on positive, not only negative, aspect of caregiving.

Keywords: caregiving; dementia; positive aspects; questionnaire; validation study.