PreprintArticleVersion 1Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Psychometric Evaluation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among Italian and Swiss Family Caregivers of Patients with Dementia
Version 1
: Received: 8 August 2022 / Approved: 9 August 2022 / Online: 9 August 2022 (08:44:11 CEST)
How to cite:
Ali, A.; Alameri, R. A.; Hendawy, A. O.; Al-Amer, R.; Shahrour, G.; Ali, E. M.; Alkhamees, A. A.; Ibrahim, N.; Hassan, B. H. Psychometric Evaluation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among Italian and Swiss Family Caregivers of Patients with Dementia. Preprints2022, 2022080176. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0176.v1
Ali, A.; Alameri, R. A.; Hendawy, A. O.; Al-Amer, R.; Shahrour, G.; Ali, E. M.; Alkhamees, A. A.; Ibrahim, N.; Hassan, B. H. Psychometric Evaluation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among Italian and Swiss Family Caregivers of Patients with Dementia. Preprints 2022, 2022080176. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0176.v1
Ali, A.; Alameri, R. A.; Hendawy, A. O.; Al-Amer, R.; Shahrour, G.; Ali, E. M.; Alkhamees, A. A.; Ibrahim, N.; Hassan, B. H. Psychometric Evaluation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among Italian and Swiss Family Caregivers of Patients with Dementia. Preprints2022, 2022080176. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0176.v1
APA Style
Ali, A., Alameri, R. A., Hendawy, A. O., Al-Amer, R., Shahrour, G., Ali, E. M., Alkhamees, A. A., Ibrahim, N., & Hassan, B. H. (2022). Psychometric Evaluation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among Italian and Swiss Family Caregivers of Patients with Dementia. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0176.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Ali, A., Nashwa Ibrahim and Bothaina Hussein Hassan. 2022 "Psychometric Evaluation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8)/DASS-12/DASS-21 among Italian and Swiss Family Caregivers of Patients with Dementia" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0176.v1
Abstract
Dementia patients express a set of problematic and deteriorating symptoms, along self-care dependency. Overtime, the mental health of family caregivers of persons with dementia may suffer, putting them at a high risk for psychopathology, which may be associated with endangered wellbeing of demented people. This cross-sectional study examined the psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8), DASS-12, DASS-21 in a convenient sample of 571 caregivers from northern Italy and southern Switzerland (Mean age = 53, SD = 12, range = 24–89 years). A bifactor structure of the three measures had the best fit; some items of the DASS-12/DASS-21 failed to load on their domain-specific factors. The three-factor structure was invariant across various groups (e.g., gender, education, etc.), expressed adequate reliability and convergent validity, and had strong positive correlation with the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLALS3). Dementia type had no effect on distress scores, which were higher among females, adult children caregivers, those caring for dependent patients, and those who received help with care. For 54.9 and 38.8% of the latter, care was provided by relatives and health professionals, respectively. Since the DASS-8 expresses adequate psychometrics comparable with the DASS-21, it may be used as a brief measure of distress in this population.
Keywords
psychological distress/anxiety/depression; dementia; Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21; Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items; factor structure; psychometric properties; structural validity; validation; measurement invariance; old age/elders/elderly; informal; family caregivers; spouse; adult children
Subject
Social Sciences, Psychology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.