Open AccessThe social functioning in dementia scale (SF‐DEM): Exploratory factor analysis and psychometric properties in mild, moderate, and severe dementia
Author(s) -
Budgett Jessica,
Brown Anna,
Daley Stephanie,
Page Thomas E.,
Banerjee Sube,
Livingston Gill,
Sommerlad Andrew
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia: diagnosis, assessment and disease monitoring
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.497
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2352-8729
DOI - 10.1016/j.dadm.2018.11.001
Subject(s) - dementia , exploratory factor analysis , psychology , internal consistency , clinical psychology , scale (ratio) , quality of life (healthcare) , psychometrics , activities of daily living , construct validity , gerontology , psychiatry , medicine , psychotherapist , disease , physics , quantum mechanics
The psychometric properties of the social functioning in dementia scale over different dementia severities are unknown. Methods We interviewed 299 family carers of people with mild, moderate, or severe dementia from two UK research sites; examined acceptability (completion rates); conducted exploratory factor analysis; and tested each factor's internal consistency and construct validity. Results Of 299, 285 (95.3%) carers completed questionnaires. Factor analysis indicated three distinct factors with acceptable internal consistency: spending time with other people , correlating with overall social function (r = 0.56, P < .001) and activities of daily living (r = −0.48, P < .001); communicating with other people correlating with activities of daily living (r = −0.66, P < .001); and sensitivity to other people correlating with quality of life (r = 0.35, P < .001) and inversely with neuropsychiatric symptoms (r = −0.45, P < .001). The three factors' correlations with other domains were similar across all dementia severities. Discussion The social functioning in dementia scale carer version measures three social functioning domains and has satisfactory psychometric properties in all severities of dementia.