XI Conference – European Congress of Methodology

Evaluation of competence in dementia care among formal caregivers: Adaptation of the Sense of Competence in Dementia Care Staff scale (SCIDS) to Spanish

24 Jul 2025, 11:30

30m

Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication. (The Pyramid)/. - Foyer (Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication. (The Pyramid))

Poster Measurement Poster Session 3

Speaker

Arantxa Gorostiaga (University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU)

Abstract

The evaluation of formal caregivers' ability to manage psychological and behavioral symptoms, as well as other problematic behaviors associated with dementia, is of great relevance for several reasons. On one hand, a lack of knowledge about dementia and the inability to handle these symptoms add additional stress to the burden these caregivers may experience. Moreover, assessing this competence is essential for identifying training needs and designing tailored interventions targeted at this population. Among the available instruments for this purpose, the Sense of Competence in Dementia Care Staff (SCIDS) scale developed by Schepers et al. (2012) demonstrates good psychometric properties and is well-suited for measuring this construct, as it assesses perceived competence in dementia care and symptom management. However, this instrument is not yet available in Spanish. This study presents the first findings regarding the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the SCIDS. The scale’s translation followed a back-translation design, involving four experts in dementia care and psychometric aspects related to item development. In the study’s initial phase, cognitive interviews were conducted with 15 individuals from the target population to evaluate its validity evidence based on response processes. After that, a pilot phase was carried out with a sample of 50 participants from the target population to analyze the initial functioning of the items. Finally, the version obtained from this phase was administered, along with the necessary validation battery, to a sample of 247 formal dementia caregivers (93.1% women), aged between 18 and 66 years (M = 46.73; SD = 11.92). Regarding validity evidence based on internal structure, two models were tested: a unidimensional structure and a four-dimensional structure (Professionalism, Relationship Establishment, Care Challenges, and Adaptation to the Person), replicating the instrument's original structure. The best-fitting model was the four-dimensional structure (CFI = .949; TLI = .938). These dimensions demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .77, .76, .83, and .73, respectively). The initial results from the adaptation process of the SCIDS into the Spanish language and culture indicate that it possesses adequate psychometric properties. In the coming months, the study aims to expand the sample and provide additional validity evidence for the scale.