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An abbreviated German version of the Sense of Competence Questionnaire among informal caregivers of relatives who had a stroke: development and validation

European Journal of Ageing volume 12, pages 203–213 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Caregiver burden is a main outcome domain in caregiver intervention research. A recommended instrument for measuring burden is the Sense of Competence Questionnaire (SCQ). In this study, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the German version of the SCQ with informal caregivers of stroke patients. Baseline data of a randomized controlled trial (n = 122) and survey data (n = 76) of caregivers of stroke patients were used. Data were collected at the caregiver’s or the care receiver’s home or over the telephone. We evaluated the homogeneity, the construct validity, and the clinical validity of the German version and the homogeneity of a new abbreviated version. The homogeneity of the SCQ indicates good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.89). The three-factor structure of the SCQ was mostly confirmed through principal components analyses using oblimin rotation. Clinical validity was supported through correlations between sense of competence and burden (r = −0.51), depression (r = −0.52), and care recipient’s cognitive function (r = 0.36). Sixteen items with consistent factor loadings were extracted and proposed as a new abbreviated version of the SCQ (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.84). The abbreviated German rendition of the SCQ version that was validated in this study offers a consistent version that can be applied across different languages and among caregivers of stroke survivors or people with dementia.

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Acknowledgments

This study was part of the project “Telephone-based behavior-therapeutic intervention to reduce family caregiver burden in chronic stroke” (ISRCTN86289718), which was funded by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds [Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung-Spitzenverband] and was supported by the German Stroke Foundation [Stiftung Deutsche-Schlaganfall Hilfe. We thank Myrra Vernooij-Dassen, Gabriele Wilz, Steffi Krüger, Franziska Leitzke, Ruth Hoffrichter, Beate Lindemann, and Julia Wengert for their support. We would also like to thank the caregivers who participated in this study.

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Affiliations

  1. Clinic of Geriatric Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch Hospital, Auerbachstrasse 110, 70376, Stuttgart, Germany

    Anna Pendergrass, Denis Beische, Clemens Becker & Klaus Pfeiffer

  2. Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Martin Hautzinger

  3. Department of Geriatric Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Castle Hospital Winnenden, Winnenden, Germany

    Denis Beische

Authors
  1. Anna Pendergrass
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  2. Denis Beische
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  3. Clemens Becker
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  4. Martin Hautzinger
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  5. Klaus Pfeiffer
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Correspondence to Anna Pendergrass.

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Responsible Editor: H. Litwin.

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Pendergrass, A., Beische, D., Becker, C. et al. An abbreviated German version of the Sense of Competence Questionnaire among informal caregivers of relatives who had a stroke: development and validation. Eur J Ageing 12, 203–213 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-015-0342-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-015-0342-3

Keywords

  • Questionnaire
  • Validation
  • Caregivers
  • Stroke
  • Competence