Subjective caregiver burden: validity of the 10-item short version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers BSFC-s

Abstract

BackgroundSubjective burden is a central variable describing the situation encountered by family caregivers. The 10-item short version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFC-short/BSFC-s) was developed to provide an economical measure of this variable. The present study examined the reliability and validity of the BSFC-s.MethodsComprehensive data from “the IDA project” were the basis of the calculations, which included 351 dyads and examined medical data on people with dementia, interview data from their family caregivers, and health insurance data. A factor analysis was performed to explore the structure of the BSFC-s; Cronbach’s alpha was used to evaluate the internal consistency of the scale. The items were analyzed to determine the item difficulty and the discriminatory power. Construct validity was tested with five hypotheses. To establish the predictive validity of the BSFC-s, predictors of institutionalization at a follow-up time of 2.5 years were analyzed (binary logistic regression).ResultsThe BSFC-s score adhered to a one-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha for the complete scale was .92. A significant increase in the BSFC-s score was observed when dementia progressed, disturbing behavior occurred more frequently, care requirements increased, and when caregivers were diagnosed with depression. Caregiver burden was the second strongest predictor of institutionalization out of a total of four significant predictors.ConclusionsAll hypotheses that referred to the construct validity were supported. The BSFC-short with its ten items is a very economical instrument for assessing the caregiver’s total subjective burden in a short time frame. The BSFC-s score has predictive validity for the institutionalization of people with dementia. Therefore it is an appropriate outcome measure to evaluate caregiver interventions. The scale is available for free in 20 languages (http://www.caregiver-burden.eu). This availability facilitates the comparison of international research findings.

Screening for caregivers at risk: Extended validation of the short version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFC-s) with a valid classification system for caregivers caring for an older person at home

“…To provide a quick and economical way to assess subjective burden, Graessel, Berth, Lichte and Grau [16] developed and validated a short form of the BSFC (BSFC-s) consisting of 10 items. This first validation study on the short version (BSFC-s), which assessed amongst other variables the correlations between the BSFC-s score and scales measuring the severity of cognitive impairment, the severity of disturbing behavior and the diagnosis of a depressive episode concerning the caregiver, showed that it measures the construct as well as the long version does, without any loss of quality [16].…”

“…This first validation study on the short version (BSFC-s), which assessed amongst other variables the correlations between the BSFC-s score and scales measuring the severity of cognitive impairment, the severity of disturbing behavior and the diagnosis of a depressive episode concerning the caregiver, showed that it measures the construct as well as the long version does, without any loss of quality [16]. This previous validation study investigated both the internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.92 for the complete scale) and the construct validity (e.g.…”

Overburden in Alzheimer’s Patient Caregivers

“…The term "care" is widely used and has been studied from different approaches, especially in the areas of study which refer to overburden of the caregiver [9][10][11], associated factors [12][13][14][15], or instruments for its measure [16][17][18].…”

Measuring carer burden in informal carers of patients with long-term conditions

“…According to Lilly et al (2007), carers cohabiting with care recipients are more likely than any other carer group to have to stop working altogether. In some cases the impact of carer burden can result in deterioration in the carer's health, and hence why it is so important to recognise, measure and address the impact of providing unpaid care (Grässel et al, 2014). A systematic review by Whalen and Buchholz (2009) examined international quantitative research papers that focused on the psychometric properties and feasibility of caregiver burden screening tools.…”