Psychometric properties of the self-administered version of the 'Self-Care Requisites Scale' among carers for the mentally ill

Abstract

Introduction: people with schizophrenia frequently need the assistance of a family member who may then become the main carer for the patient. For the carer this may be a difficult and complicated situation that needs to be taken into account in the design of healthcare intervention. Our plan was to carry out an evaluation of the carer, using the 'Self-care Requisites Scale' of Roldan (2011). The aim of the study was to adapt the scale in such a way that it could be self-administered. Methodology: the design was carried out in two phases. First the questionnaire was adapted so that it could be self-administered; this was done by consensus among a group of experts. In the second phase we analyzed the psychometric properties of the results in terms of reliability and validity. Results: the definitive questionnaire consisted of 35 items and 6 dimensions. The internal consistency coefficient for the instrument overall was 0.85. The strongest correlations were obtained between the majority of the sub-scales and the total scale. Conclusions: the 'Self-care Requisites Scale' is easily self-administered by the carers of people suffering schizophrenia. The results, in terms of both reliability and validity, were good.