Measurement of inter-role conflict among employed family caregivers of elderly people with dementia

Abstract

We developed a scale to measure inter-role conflict among employed family caregivers of elderly people with dementia, titled the Caregiving-Work Conflict Scale (CWCS). In study 1, items for the scale were selected, and factor structure and internal consistency were examined. In study 2, test-retest reliability of the scale was examined. In study 3, validity of the scales was examined using different samples compared to study 1 and 2. Results show that the CWCS, consisting of 20 items in 5 subscales corresponding to a bidirectional construct of inter-role conflict (caregiving interfering with work and work interfering with caregiving), was reliable and valid. We also show that when we consider cognitive appraisal in addition to frequency of experience in the assessment of inter-role conflict, no significant differences were observed in predicting stress and caregiving burden. We discuss the assessment and structure of inter-role conflict among employed family caregivers of elderly people with dementia.