Escala de abnegación en cuidadores familiares de adultos mayors

Abstract

Literature about family caregivers of the elderly identify abnegation as a main attribute in those who assume the caregiving role. This characteristic comes at the expense of their own physical and/or emotional health; however, no psychometric instruments have been developed that study abnegation within large caregiver samples which can in turn generate evidence that could be integrated into comprehensive models of well-being in caregivers. Aided by the theoretical frame and empirical background of Mexican ethnopsychology, an abnegation scale was designed and applied to two caregivers samples (n1=115; n2=351), using non probabilistic sampling. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two dimensions that explained 60% of test variance: Self-modification to avoid familiar tension and Self-denial to meet family needs. Factor analysis through structural equation modeling confirmed the submitted measure model, in accordance to the following goodness of fit indexes: SRMR = .039, RMSEA = .062, CFI = .971, GFI = .975, NFI = .950. The scale showed adequate validity and reliability properties, indicating culturally relevant and conceptually clear factors.