Validation of a Comprehensive Measure of the Family Caregiver Experience: The Caregiver Reaction Scale.

Objectives: The Caregiver Reaction Scale (CRS) is a multi-dimensional measure of the family caregiving experience that assesses role conflict, challenges, and positive aspects of caregiving. The CRS has been validated in a sample of older adult caregivers who sought counseling, but its validity and reliability in a broader population of caregivers had not been established. This study aimed to explore how well the CRS assesses the multiple dimensions of the caregiving experience in a sample of family caregivers who match the national profile of caregivers and to confirm the validity and structure of the subscales.

Methods: Family caregivers ( = 452), age 18-89 (= 48.56,  = 17.15) were recruited online and completed the CRS and questionnaires of burden and positive aspects of caregiving. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to confirm the underlying factor structure of the CRS, and convergent and discriminant validity was examined.

Results: CFA supported the existing structure of the CRS; all subscales demonstrated very good internal consistency reliability (α ≤.88), convergent validity ( ≥.39), and discriminant validity ( ≤.12).

Conclusions: The CRS offers a valid and reliable assessment of the caregiving experience as evidenced by the convergent and discriminant validity of CRS subscales with well-validated measures of burden and positive aspects of caregiving.

Clinical Implications: The CRS assesses multiple dimensions of caregiving that can be used to better understand the caregiver's experience, guide clinical interventions and referrals, and identify caregiver strengths.