The Caregiver Thoughts Scale: An Instrument to Assess Functional and Dysfunctional Thoughts about Caregiving

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives Caregivers’ care-related thoughts critically effect their well-being. Currently, there is a lack of validated measures to systematically assess caregivers’ functional and dysfunctional thoughts. We therefore aimed to develop a measure of caregivers’ thoughts that assesses not only their dysfunctional but also their functional thoughts in multiple domains. Methods A pool of potential questionnaire items was generated from therapy sessions with caregivers and was rated by experts. A sample of 322 main family caregivers (Mage = 63.9 years) of a person with dementia then completed a set of 28 items about their care-related thoughts and a number of related measures at three measurement points. Items were then aggregated via a formative measurement approach based on theoretical considerations. Correlational analyses were used to examine the construct validity of the subscale scores. Results The final 28-item scale assesses caregiving thoughts in four distinct domains: dysfunctional caregiving standards, self-care, dysfunctional assumptions about dementia, and acceptance. The correlational analyses demonstrated the subscales’ construct validity, by showing that scale scores are meaningfully related to theoretically relevant constructs. Conclusions The Caregiving Thoughts Scale is a promising measure of caregivers’ thoughts in four important domains. Clinical Implications The scale can be applied in clinical research settings.