Abstract

Measurement of informal caregiver burnout is typically achieved by re-purposing scales of occupational burnout. Such approaches have several methodological and theoretical weaknesses. This paper proposes a new tool for measuring caregiver burnout: The Informal Caregiver Burnout Inventory (ICBI). In the first portion of this study, focused feedback was collected from within-field experts and caregivers. Following item revision, an online sample of informal US caregivers of an individual with dementia was collected. Item Response Theory analysis was used to prune low-information or low-consistency items from the scale. The finalized ICBI contained 10 items and showed strong convergent validity, adequately differentiated burnout from depression, and had high internal reliability. The ICBI was compared against two gold-standard measures of occupational burnout and was able to satisfactorily correlate burnout with subjective and objective burden, perceived support, depressive symptoms, and intent to transfer to long-term care services. Auxiliary hypotheses assessed the use of burnout as a moderator and mediator in the relationship between burden and depression and intent to transfer to long-term care services. Burnout was found to significantly moderate the relationship between burden and depression but did not moderate the relationship between burden and intent to transfer. Similarly, burnout partially mediated the relationship between burden and depression but did not mediate intent to transfer. The ICBI is a powerful, lightweight, and accessible measure of burnout for informal caregivers of individuals with dementia. Recommendations for future applications of the ICBI, future avenues of research, and utility of the scale are discussed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2020

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Paulson, Daniel

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Psychology; Clinical Psychology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008340; DP0023777

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0023777

Language

English

Release Date

December 2020

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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