Factor analysis of the Caregiver Appraisal Scale in military TBI.

Abstract

Purpose/Objective: To (a) examine the factor structure of the original 47-item Caregiver Appraisal Scale (CAS) in caregivers of service members/veterans (SMVs) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and (b) assess whether the CAS yields a similar factor structure in this population compared to caregivers of civilian adults following TBI. Research Method/Design: Participants were 287 caregivers (female ϭ 96.2%; spouse ϭ 87.8%; mean age ϭ 38.6 years) of SMVs who sustained a mild, moderate, severe, or penetrating TBI, recruited from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and via caregiver community outreach. Caregivers completed the CAS, Caregiver Questionnaire, and Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 upon enrollment in the study. Results: Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed four factors that explained 43.2% of the variance in CAS scores: Perceived Burden, Caregiving Relationship Satisfaction, Caregiving Ideology, and Caregiving Mastery. Thirty-seven of the 47 CAS items loaded significantly onto only one of the four factors (Ն.40). A secondary PCA was performed on these 37 items, resulting in a four-factor solution very similar to that of the 47-item solution, which explained 46.8% of the variance in the 37-item measure. All but one item loaded significantly on a factor corresponding to a conceptually similar construct. Conclusions/Implications: Military and civilian caregivers have overlapping and differing concerns. The findings support a 37-item four-factor model of This article was published Online First March 21, 2019.

Unhealthy family functioning is associated with health-related quality of life among military spouse caregivers.

“…The Caregiver Appraisal Scale (Lawton et al, 1989) is a 47-item self-report measure of positive and negative appraisal of caregiving stress. Items are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree) , and scored according to Brickell and colleagues (Brickell et al, 2019) using 14 items to create the Perceived Burden subscale and 13 items to create the Caregiving Relationship Satisfaction subscale. Items were summed to reflect total scores with higher scores reflecting more positive feelings.…”

Longitudinal health-related quality of life in military caregivers no longer providing care.

“…The Caregiver Appraisal Scale (Lawton et al, 1989) was completed by the Caregiving group and No Longer Caregiving group at baseline. The 13-item Caregiving Relationship Satisfaction subscale (α = .89) was calculated for the current study according to Brickell, Reid, et al (2019). Items were rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5 and summed to reflect total scores with higher scores reflecting more positive feelings.…”