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. 2021 Mar;29(2):257-268.
doi: 10.1002/erv.2817. Epub 2020 Dec 17.

A German version of the Caregiver Skills scale for caregivers of patients with anorexia nervosa

Michael Zeiler  1 , Julia Philipp  1 , Stefanie Truttmann  1 , Tanja Wittek  1 , Claudia Franta  1 , Hartmut Imgart  2 , Annika Zanko  2 , Ellen Auer-Welsbach  3 , Leonie Kahlenberg  1 , Gudrun Wagner  1 , Andreas Karwautz  1
Affiliations

A German version of the Caregiver Skills scale for caregivers of patients with anorexia nervosa

Michael Zeiler et al. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate acceptance, reliability, convergent validity, factor structure and sensitivity to change of a German translation of the Caregiver Skills (CASK) scale measuring skills related to caring for patients with eating disorders.

Methods: Two hundred and thirty-three parents (76% female) of adolescent patients (mean age 15.1) with anorexia nervosa (AN) completed the 27 items of the CASK. We calculated item/scale characteristics, internal consistencies and bivariate correlations with other measures of caregiving burden. We evaluated goodness-of-fit of the 6-factor model using confirmatory factors analysis and explored the sensitivity to change following two skills-based trainings.

Results: The fit of the 6-factor model was acceptable (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation: 0.077, Standard Root Mean Square Residual: 0.080). Cronbach's alpha was excellent for the total (.94) and acceptable for all subscales (0.73-0.85). The total CASK score was 68.04 (max. 100) showing relatively high self-rated caregiver skills. Non-completion rates of most items were low (<3%) indicating high acceptance. Convergent validity was found with measures of psychological distress, depression, anxiety and expressed emotion. The total score significantly increased following an 8-week workshop/online skills training (d = 0.70) and a 2-day multi-family intervention (d = 0.47).

Discussion: The German CASK version is a useful instrument to assess caregiver skills in parents of patients with AN and to evaluate outcomes of skills-based trainings.

Keywords: CASK; anorexia nervosa; caregivers; eating disorders; skills; validity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Julia Philipp, Stefanie Truttmann and Tanja Wittek conducted the SUCCEAT workshop and online interventions. No other conflict of interest is reported.

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