Inventário de habilidades sociais para cuidadores familiares de idosos (IHS-CI): relações com indicadores de bem-estar psicológico

The experience of caring for a dependent elderly person often involves feelings of stress and burden. In this context, a well-developed repertoire of social skills can improve interpersonal relationships, resulting in better psychological wellbeing. The Social Skills Inventory for Caregivers of the Elderly Family Members (SSI-CE) was developed to evaluate interventions that aim to improve caregivers’ social skills. Evidence of the internal validity of the SSI-CE is positive. The objective of this study was to analyze evidence of construct validity by verifying the convergent validity of the SSI-CE, based on relations with other constructs, namely: quality of life, quality of the dyadic relationship, perceptions of burden and depressive symptoms. A total of 205 family caregivers of the elderly, with a mean age of 51 years (SD = 14), with different socioeconomic and educational levels, completed the SSI-CE, the Dyadic Relationship Scale (with two subscales: Positive Interaction and Confl icts), the Beck Depression Inventory and Novelli’s Quality of Life Scale. The SSI-CE was positively correlated with quality of life and with the Positive Interactions subscale and negatively correlated with burden, depressive symptoms, confl icts. The results support the construct validity of the SSI-CE, but other evidence of validity is still needed. Keyword: Caregivers, elderly, social skills, psychological assessment, quality of life. Inventario de Habilidades Sociales para Cuidadores Familiares de Adultos Mayores (IHS-CI): Relaciones con Indicadores de Bienestar Psicológico