title: Development of a nursing care problems coping scale for male caregivers for people with dementia living at home.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The number of male caregivers has increased, but male caregivers face several problems that reduce their quality of life and psychological condition. This study focused on the coping problems of men who care for people with dementia at home. It aimed to develop a coping scale for male caregivers so that they can continue caring for people with dementia at home and improve their own quality of life. The study also aimed to verify the reliability and validity of the scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 759 men who care for people with dementia at home. The Care Problems Coping Scale consists of 21 questions based on elements of questions extracted from a pilot study. Additionally, subjects completed three self-administered questionnaires: the Japanese version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, the Depressive Symptoms and the Self-esteem Emotional Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 274 valid responses (36.1% response rate). Regarding the answer distribution, each average value of the 21 items ranged from 1.56 to 2.68. The median answer distribution of the 21 items was 39 (SD = 6.6). Five items had a ceiling effect, and two items had a floor effect. The scale stability was about 50%, and Cronbach's α was 0.49. There were significant correlations between the Care Problems Coping Scale and total scores of the Japanese version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, the Depressive Symptoms and Self-esteem Emotional Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The answers provided on the Care Problems Coping Scale questionnaire indicated that male caregivers experience care problems. In terms of validity, there were significant correlations between the external questionnaires and 19 of the 21 items in this scale. This scale can therefore be used to measure problems with coping for male caregivers who care for people with dementia at home.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan.
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ono
keywords: care problems; coping; dementia; home care; male caregivers