Development of a measure to evaluate gains among spanish dementia caregivers: The gains associated with caregiving (GAC) scale.
BACKGROUND
The study is aimed at developing a new measure devised to evaluate gains associated with caregiving for a person with dementia.


METHODS
We conducted two studies with Spanish informal caregivers. In Study 1 a total of 152 participants responded to a preliminary set of 62 items referred to gains related with caregiving. After exploring their psychometric properties, we studied its factor structure, concurrent validity, and internal consistency reliability by means of, respectively, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), its correlation with the similar measures, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients. In Study 2 we undertook a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to obtain further evidence regarding the scale dimensionality and we studied its construct validity by calculating its correlations with the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), the Geriatric Depression Scale - Short Form (GDS-SF), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS).


RESULTS
The final version of the Gains Associated with Caregiving (GAC) scale comprised 22 items, all of which seemed to belong to the same factor according to both the EFA and the CFA. The correlation between the GAC scale and similar measures was statistically significant and strong, and the Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.95. Statistically significant correlations in the expected direction were found between the GAC and the ZBI, the GDS-SF, and the SWLS.


CONCLUSIONS
The high internal consistency of the GAC scale, and its adequate concurrent and construct validity suggest that it is a suitable instrument for evaluating gains among Spanish informal dementia caregivers.
Departament of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jfaba@ub.edu.
Josep
J
Fabà
Departament of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: fvillar@ub.edu.
Feliciano
F
Villar
Research Institute on Basic, Applied and Technology, Conicet, Faculty of Psychology, National University of Mar del Plata, Rawson 1550, 7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina. Electronic address: mariaflorenciagiuliani@gmail.com.
M Florencia
MF
Giuliani
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000628:therapy*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013030:Spain
Dementia; Gains; Informal caregiving; Scale development