Development and psychometric validation of the dementia attitudes scale

Abstract

This study employed qualitative construct mapping and factor analysis to construct a scale to measure attitudes toward dementia. Five family caregivers, five professionals, and five college students participated in structured interviews. Qualitative analysis of the interviews led to a 46-item scale, which was reduced to 20 items following principal axis factoring with two different samples: college students (N=302) and certified nursing assistant students (N=145). Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted with another sample of college students (N=157). The final scale, titled the Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS), essentially had a two-factor structure; the factors were labeled dementia knowledge and social comfort. Total-scale Cronbach's alphas ranged 0.83-0.85. Evidence for convergent validity was promising, as the DAS correlated significantly with scales that measured ageism and attitudes toward disabilities (range of correlations = 0.440.55; mean correlation =0.50). These findings demonstrate the reliability and validity of the DAS, supporting its use as a research tool. Copyright © 2010 M. L. OConnor and S. H. McFadden.