Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T11:00:17.280Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Validation of the Caregiver Guilt Questionnaire (CGQ) in a sample of British dementia caregivers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2013

Louise Roach ,
Ken Laidlaw ,
David Gillanders  and
Kathryn Quinn
Louise Roach*
Affiliation:
NHS Fife Department of Psychology, Lynebank Hospital, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline KY11 8JH, UK
Ken Laidlaw
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
David Gillanders
Affiliation:
School of Health in Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
Kathryn Quinn
Affiliation:
NHS Fife Department of Psychology, Lynebank Hospital, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline KY11 8JH, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Louise Roach, NHS Fife Department of Psychology, Lynebank Hospital, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, KY11 8JH, UK. Phone: +44 (0)1383 565402; Fax: +44 (0)1383 565409. Email: louise.roach@nhs.net.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Depression is well documented as a key outcome variable for dementia caregivers; however, guilt has been under-researched, which may be in part due to the lack of an appropriate measure. The Caregiver Guilt Questionnaire (CGQ) was originally developed and piloted with a Spanish population but has not yet been tested in an English-speaking population.

Methods:

A cross-sectional postal survey was undertaken with a sample of 221 dementia caregivers in the UK, as part of a larger study of dementia caregiver outcome measures.

Results:

The five-factor structure identified for the CGQ in the Spanish sample was replicated in this study. The five factors, “guilt about doing wrong by the care recipient,” “guilt about failing to meet the challenges of caregiving,” ‘guilt over experience of negative emotions in relation to caregiving,” “guilt about self-care,” and “guilt about neglecting other relatives” accounted for 60% of the variance. Internal consistencies for the whole scale and factors were acceptable, and convergent validity was established with the Zarit Burden Interview guilt factor. A higher score on the CGQ was associated with a higher score on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) and a new cut-off score of 22 was established, which predicted a clinical score on the CES-D with 80.0% sensitivity and 61.5% specificity.

Conclusions:

The replication of the five-factor structure suggests that these are relevant themes within the feelings of guilt to both Hispanic and British dementia caregivers. The CGQ has been demonstrated to be a valid measure for use with British dementia caregivers and is likely to be of use in clinical and research settings.

Keywords

depressioncarersdementiarating scalescross-cultural
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 25 , Issue 12 , December 2013 , pp. 2001 - 2010
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn, text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Ankri, J., Andrieu, S., Beaufils, B., Grand, A. and Henrard, J. C. (2005). Beyond the global score of the Zarit Burden Interview: useful dimensions for clinicians. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 254–260.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baruch, Y. (1999). Response rate in academic studies – a comparative analysis. Human Relations, 52, 421–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, J.et al. (1999). Informal caregiving for frail older people at home and in long-term care institutions: who are the key supporters? Health and Social Care in the Community, 7, 434–444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Everitt, B. S. (1975). Multivariate analysis: the need for data, and other problems. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 237–240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galdas, P. M., Cheater, F. and Marshall, P. (2005). Men and health help-seeking behaviour: literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 49, 616–623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallagher-Thompson, D. and Coon, D. W. (2007). Evidence-based psychological treatments for distress in family caregivers of older adults. Psychology and Aging, 22, 37–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gonyea, J. G., Paris, R. and de Saxe Zerden, L. (2008). Adult daughters and aging mothers: the role of guilt in the experience of caregiver burden. Aging and Mental Health, 12, 559–567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gorsuch, R. L. (1983). Factor Analysis, 2nd edn.Hillside, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Haringsma, R., Engels, G. I., Beekman, A. T. F. and Spinhoven, P. (2004). The criterion validity of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in a sample of self-referred elders with depressive symptomatology. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19, 558–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, S., Thibodeau, R. and Jorgensen, R. S. (2011). Shame, guilt and depressive symptoms: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 68–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Losada, A., Márquez-González, M., Peñacoba, C. and Romero-Moreno, R. (2010). Development and validation of the caregiver guilt questionnaire. International Psychogeriatrics, 22, 650–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacCallum, R. C., Widaman, K. F., Zhang, S. and Hong, S. (1999). Sample size in factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 4, 84–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, Y., Gilbert, P., McEwan, K. and Irons, C. (2006). The relation of entrapment, shame and guilt to depression, in carers of people with dementia. Aging and Mental Health, 10, 101–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinquart, M. and Sorensen, S. (2011). Spouses, adult children, and children-in-law as caregivers of older adults: a meta-analytic comparison. Psychology and Aging, 26, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: a self report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raschick, M. and Ingersoll-Dayton, B. (2004). The costs and rewards of caregiving among aging spouses and adult children. Family Relations, 53, 317–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosa, E.et al. (2010). Needs of caregivers of the patients with dementia. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 51, 54–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Samuelsson, A. M., Annerstedt, L., Elmstahl, S., Samuelsson, S. and Grafstrom, M. (2001). Burden of responsibility experienced by family caregivers of elderly dementia sufferers: analyses of strain, feelings and coping strategies. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 15, 25–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulz, R., Martire, L. M. and Klinger, J. N. (2005). Evidence-based caregiver interventions in geriatric psychiatry. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 28, 1007–1038.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Selwood, A., Johnston, K., Katona, C., Lyketsos, C. Y. and Livingston, G. (2007). Systematic review of the effect of psychological interventions on family caregivers of people with dementia. Journal of Affective Disorders, 101, 75–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tangney, J. P. and Dearing, R. L. (2002). Shame and Guilt. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Yee, J. L. and Schulz, R. (2000). Gender differences in psychiatric morbidity among family caregivers: a review and analysis. The Gerontologist, 40, 147–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zarit, S. H. and Femia, E. E. (2008). A future for family care and dementia intervention research? Challenges and strategies. Aging & Mental Health, 12, 5–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zarit, S. H., Reever, K. E. and Bach-Peterson, J. (1980). Relatives of the impaired elderly: correlates of feelings of burden. The Gerontologist, 20, 649–655.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed