title: Validation of the Italian version of the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-I) in institutionalized geriatric patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Apathy is a very common symptom in the institutionalized elderly and represents a condition of both clinical and public health importance. The Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) has been shown to be a valid and reliable tool for characterizing, quantifying and differentiating apathy in various health conditions. The aims of this study were to establish the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the AES, and to assess the severity of apathy in a sample of Italian institutionalized geriatric patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from clinical interviews using the AES informant version (AES-I). Associations between measures of apathy and depression, cognitive functioning and perceived quality of life were evaluated, as well as the effects of the living environment on apathetic symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple forms of reliability and validity (i.e. test-retest, internal consistency, discriminability of apathy rating from a standard measure of depression) were satisfied. Our results also show that the characteristics of the care setting may affect the severity of apathetic symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The AES-I Italian version is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring apathy in Italian patients, also allowing a direct comparison with data gathered in other countries.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e Neuroscienze, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borgi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Filosofia, Sociologia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Floriana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caccamo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ambiente e Connessa Prevenzione Primaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giuliani
authors.affiliation: Giomi RSA Srl, Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piergentili
authors.affiliation: Giomi RSA Srl, Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sessa
authors.affiliation: Giomi RSA Srl, Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reda
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e Neuroscienze, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alleva
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e Neuroscienze, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cirulli
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi "Mediterranea" di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miraglia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057565:Apathy; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results