title: Initial psychometrics of the ambiance scale: a tool to study person-environment interaction in dementia.
abstract: Our purpose was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Ambiance Scale (AS), a new instrument that assesses the capacity of long-term care environments for generating affective and behavioural responses in people with dementia. Within the context of three parent studies of dementia-related behaviour in long-term care settings, we conducted a cross-sectional correlational study by creating two separate samples of ratings from among all those available. Factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure (engaging, soothing) for the AS. Internal consistency and evaluation of inter- and intra-rater reliability were favourable. A consistent pattern of ratings on the AS and its subscales, moderate subscale correlations, and significant differences between facility types: nursing homes (NH) vs assisted living facilities (ALF) and among selected locations (residents' rooms, dining rooms, halls) within facility types support construct validity of the scale.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. dalgase@umich.edu
authors.forename: Donna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Algase
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Gwi-Ryung S
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Gwi-Ryung
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Elizabeth R A
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Ann F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Whall
mesh_terms: D001131:Arkansas; D040561:Assisted Living Facilities; D003704:Dementia; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012931:Social Environment