Construct Validity of the Caregiver Well-Being Scale: Among A Sample of Informal Caregivers of Chemical Warfare Elderly Veterans

Well-being is a positive and stable state of mind that is directly related to the quality of life of caregivers and brings a sense of satisfaction and happiness. So measuring the well-being of caregivers with a valid instrument is important for researchers and clinicians. Hence, the present study was conducted to investigate the structural validity of the caregiver well-being scale (CWBS) in a sample of informal caregivers of chemical warfare elderly veterans.

The method of this study is cross-sectional for psychometric evaluation. The sample included 142 of informal caregivers of chemical warfare elderly veterans aged 60 and over in Sardasht city. Study participants were selected by convenience sampling technique. Psychometric evaluation of CWBS assessed through face and construct validity regarding WHO translation protocol. Face validity was evaluated based on the opinions of 6 experts review and construct validity investigated with confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate internal consistency reliability. The software of SPSS.V.23 and AMOS.V.23 were used for data analysis.

Regarding the face validity, the expert panel evaluated and revised the items of the CWBS. CFA revealed that the CWBS structure model was indicated as a validated model for basic needs dimension (CMIN=1.329, GFI=0.986, CFI=0.995, RMSEA=0.048) and daily activity dimension (CMIN=2.236, GFI=0.961, CFI=0.946, RMSEA=0.094) in the context of Iran and the sample of caregivers of veterans. The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.83.

The result showed CWBS is a valid and reliable scale for measuring caregiver well-being. This study recommended using Iranian CWBS in future research and policy-making after more consideration.