Search

Primary caregivers experience consequences from being in close contact to a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study used the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire to explore the level of consequences of 104 caregivers involved with adults with High Functioning ASD (HF-ASD) and compared these with the consequences reported by caregivers of patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia. Caregivers involved with adults with an HF-ASD experience overall consequences comparable to those involved with patients with depression or schizophrenia. Worrying was the most reported consequence. More tension was experienced by the caregivers of ASD patients, especially by spouses. More care and attention for spouses of adults with an HF-ASD appears to be needed.

Abstract Background Despite the achievements of previous research, caregiving assessments in severe mental illness should be crossculturally validated in order to define risk groups or to evaluate family work. This study reports on the psychometric properties of the European version of the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ-EU) in Portugal. Methods A Portuguese translation of the IEQ-EU was developed according to the 'European Psychiatric Services: Inputs Linked to Outcome Domains and Needs' (EPSILON) group guidelines. We then studied 194 caregivers who were related to patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in psychiatric outpatient services. All relatives were assessed using the IEQ-EU. In order to describe the corresponding patients' sample, the majority (n = 162) was evaluated with the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS II); 108 patients were also assessed with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Results The factor structure of the Portuguese version of the questionnaire was similar to the original; internal consistency was good, with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.71 to 0.87 in the IEQ-EU scales (total score and domains: tension, supervision, worrying, urging); test-retest reliability yielded intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) from 0.80 to 0.94, concerning the same scores. Ecological validity was confirmed. Most caregiving consequences were reported on the worrying domain of the IEQ-EU. Conclusions Validity and reliability of the Portuguese IEQ-EU translation were established. Specifically the four IEQ-EU subscale domains seem to be valid in Portugal.

Psychiatric research in Europe has always been hindered by the multitude of countries, each with their own language, their own mental health care system and their own cultural traditions. For [...]

The European Psychiatric Services: Inputs Linked to Outcomes and Needs (EPSILON) study was a EUBIOMED-2-funded comparative, cross-national, cross-sectional study aimed (1) to produce standardized versions of five key research instruments in five languages, and (2) to compare the characteristics, needs, and life qualities of people with schizophrenia and their caregivers in these five countries. One of the key instruments was the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ), an instrument to assess caregiving consequences. In this article, the intercultural validity of the IEQ is described. It was concluded that the IEQ covers the same caregiving domains in all five countries: interpersonal tension, worrying, urging, and supervision. Differences in score levels between countries were found. When adjusted for variables known to correlate with IEQ scores (patient, caregiver, and relationship), these differences still persisted. It could not be determined how far the remaining variation could be explained by site-level characteristics, because only limited site-level data had been collected. This means that researchers must still resolve the question of whether levels of caregiver consequences that cannot be explained by the data presented here are caused by cultural factors or by differences in mental health care provision. As long as cultural bias cannot be ruled out, researchers are advised to compose their own national norm groups and use these as a local standard. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]