CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A MENTAL LOAD SCALE RELATED TO FAMILY WORK

• Grant number: 23/09897-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Fundamentals and Assessments in Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Sabrina Mazo D'Affonseca
• Grantee: Maria Alice Centanin Bertho
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Recent literature has expanded discussions about family work, including the need to assess the mental load related to such tasks. This research project aims to build and validate a scale to measure the mental load related to the family context. For this, 4 studies will be conducted. In the first one, a scooping river will be carried out with the objective of constitutively defining the concept of mental load. The operational definition will be carried out from conducting focus groups with men and women who are fathers/mothers and/or live in cohabitation with the partner. In Study 2, scale items will be elaborated, which will undergo content analysis and semantic analysis, carried out, respectively, with specialists in the area and the target population. The data obtained will be submitted to concordance analysis (CVC) and qualitative analysis. Study 3 will aim to validate the scale based on the internal structure. The mental burden scale will be applied to a sample of men and women who are fathers/mothers and/or cohabiting with their partner. Data collection will be carried out online and in person. The data obtained will be submitted to analysis of the instrument's internal validity, considering exploratory factor analysis, reliability and confirmatory factor analysis. The last study will aim to seek evidence of validity from external measures, from the application of the Mental Load Scale and the WHOQOL-bref. Correlation measures will be calculated between the data from the scales. It is expected to build a validated measure for measuring the mental load in the family context.