2005 Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 52-60
The objective of the current study is to develop a scale for measuring cognitive caregiving appraisal by family caregivers for the frail elderly. The scale is composed of positive and negative segments of cognitive caregiving appraisal. The mailed survey was conducted to the members of the Association of Families Caring for the Elderly. Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation and correlation analysis between subscales were used to identify the factorial stmcture of the scale. The analyses revealed that （1）the scale consisted of 6 factors, as to negative segments : feelings of restriction of social life, anxiety about continuing caregiving, distress of the relationships with others, as to positive segments : fulfillment of caregiving roles, affection toward the caretakers, self-growth by caregiving ; （2） there exist strong correlations among subscales for negative appraisal, and among subscales for positive appraisal. There exist weak correlations among subscales for affection toward the caretakers and the negative segments such as feelings of restrtiction, anxiety, and distress. There is no significant correlation among subscales for self-growth by caregiving and the negative segments;（3）we sufficiently confirmed the reliability and content vahdity of the scale developed by us. And, these findings indicated that the scale can assess both positive and negative segments of caregiving appraisal of family caregivers, and appears to be an important index for supporting family caregivers.
