No abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability and construct validity of the Consultation Expectations Scale for caregivers of elderly persons on the basis of Gerald Caplan's mental health consultation model. The reliability was determined by the Cronbach alpha coefficient ranging from .89 to .95 and the item-total correlation varying between .63 and .75. The content validity was demonstrated by an intra-class coefficient of .92 on all items evaluated by the judges. The internal consistency was determined by the correlations between the global scale and the subscales ranging from .67 to .91. The convergent validity relied on the positive and moderate correlations between the consultation expectations on the one hand and the need for support and psychological distress on the other. This scale demonstrated good psychometric qualities. Its utilisation should permit the consultants to keep the caregivers' point of view in mind, which will enable them to become more effective in their work.

The objective of this paper is to review the difficulties associated with measuring self-help groups for what they are, and the methodology used. This report identifies issues inherent to research on self-help groups for the elderly. Elderly group participants sharing a common problem and meeting to discuss it without the benefit of professional support will, without doubt, become a more and more prevalent resource for use in the future. Consequently, it is imperative to ascertain which questions the researchers should be asking. Three research objectives are described: descriptive studies, process examination and the assessment of outcomes considered relevant to self-help groups. The discussion addresses three types of objects under study: the group participants, the group itself and the interorganizational ties established by the group, particularly in dealing with health service agencies.

Cet article présente les résultats d'une série d'études consacrées à l'élaboration d'un instrument de mesure d'indicateurs psychosociologiques du pouvoir d'agir (empowerment). Cet instrument a été construit à partir d'une conceptualisation précise du phénomène à l'étude et de diverses démarches empiriques menées au cours des 5 dernières années et conçues pour évaluer son articulation conceptuelle, ses propriétés linguistiques ainsi que ses qualités psychométriques. L'instrument présenté est constitué de 3 facteurs conceptuellement distincts et cohérents avec la littérature sur le sujet. _____________________________________________________________________________ Cet article a été rendu possible grâce à la contribution de l'Association pour la recherche et le développement d'iniatiation sociale. On peut contacter les auteurs et auteures aux adresses électroniques suivantes:

No abstract