Construction and psychometric analysis of an inventory of social skills for caregivers of elderly relatives

• Grant number: 12/00907-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Fundamentals and Assessments in Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Joan Barham
• Grantee: Francine Náthalie Ferraresi Rodrigues Queluz
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/25158-9 - Analysis of the psychometric properties of an inventory of social skills for elderly family caregivers, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The rise in life expectancy and accompanying increase in the percentage of people with chronic diseases has led to an increase in the probability that we will need to care for an elderly family member. Caring for an elderly person requires learning new information, skills and routines, which often generates considerable stress. According to theories of stress, caregivers' abilities, such as their social skills (SS), affect their effectiveness in dealing with this role. However, instruments currently used to evaluate respondents' SS do not focus on the eldercare context, such that an individual with a high SS score may not have appropriate SS for caring for an elderly person. The aims of this study are to obtain information to construct an instrument to assess SS among eldercare providers and to examine evidence about the psychometric properties of this measure. This research program will involve a series of four studies: a) analysis of previous studies on the use of SS in social interactions involving elderly people; b) structured interviews about the use of SS among eldercare providers, with informants from four different perspectives (N = 100); c) assessment of the semantic validity of the new instrument; and d) evaluation of the internal consistency (via Cronbach's alpha) and external validity (via correlations between the SS scores and measures of the quality of the care provider-care receiver relationship, quality of life, perceptions of burden and number of depressive symptoms). Thus, we expect to develop a tool that can be used to evaluate eldercare providers' SS, and to identify any needs for psychological intervention. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FRANCINE NÁTHALIE FERRARESI RODRIGUES QUELUZ; ELIZABETH JOAN BARHAM; ZILDA APARECIDA PEREIRA DEL PRETTE; ACÁCIA APARECIDA ANGELI DOS SANTOS. Inventário de Habilidades Sociais para Cuidadores Familiares de Idosos (ihs-ci): Relações com Indicadores de Bem-Estar Psicológico. Trends in Psychology, v. 26, n. 2, p. 537-564, 2018-06-00. (12/00907-3, 15/20548-6, 14/25158-9)

FRANCINE NÁTHALIE FERRARESI RODRIGUES QUELUZ; ELIZABETH JOAN BARHAM; ZILDA APARECIDA PEREIRA DEL PRETTE. A Relação Entre as Habilidades Sociais de Cuidadores de Idosos e seu Ajustamento Psicossocial. Paidéia, v. 29, 2019-08-29. (12/00907-3)

FRANCINE NÁTHALIE FERRARESI RODRIGUES PINTO; ELIZABETH JOAN BARHAM; ZILDA APARECIDA PEREIRA DEL PRETTE. Conflitos Interpessoais no Cuidado de Idosos: Importância das Habilidades Sociais do Cuidador. Paidéia, v. 26, n. 64, p. 161-170, 2016-08-00. (12/00907-3)