Caring Ability Inventory – Chinese Version

Description

The term “caring” originates from the English word “caring,” which literally means concern, love, care, help, and attachment. The German philosopher Heidegger placed caring in a broader context, dividing it into ordinary caring and professional caring. Ordinary caring is a concrete manifestation of human nature, existing in everyday life, while professional caring represents supportive and caring professional behaviors aimed at meeting the needs of the service objects to improve their living conditions, benefiting human society’s survival and development. The nursing field generally recognizes three layers of meaning for caring: the first layer being care and help, which refers to nursing actions; the second layer being concern and love, which expresses emotional support for patients; the third layer being carefulness, which represents a sense of responsibility for one’s actions.

Caring is the essence of being human: it is a concrete manifestation of human nature, reflecting a way of existence and an understanding of another person’s intrinsic value. Roach believes that caring is composed of unique expressions and meanings, represented by five aspects known as the 5C theory: Compassion (同情), Competence (能力), Confidence (信心), Conscience (良心), and Commitment (义务). Caring serves as a moral standard reliant on two types of internal motivations: natural caring and ethical caring. Natural caring is an innate, primal feeling derived from love and instinct, such as a mother’s concern for her child. Ethical caring reflects the best aspects of self and interpersonal relationships, motivating individuals to make efforts for others’ benefit or success through ethical and moral efforts. In the context of nursing, applying professional knowledge and skills to care for patients constitutes ethical caring.

Caring serves as a natural emotional expression: it represents a spiritual experience between individuals in specific times, situations, and environments, allowing both carers and those cared for to enter each other’s inner worlds, leading to personal elevation in their unique ways of expression. Caring is an interactive relationship between the caregiver and the recipient, which is established on a foundation of interpersonal interaction. The caregiver extends love toward the needs of the recipient, and when the recipient feels and accepts this care, they respond positively, thus establishing the caring relationship.

Caring is considered a therapeutic intervention: Watson categorizes nursing caring behaviors into expressive activities and operational activities. Expressive activities refer to providing a genuine, trusting emotional support imbued with hope, compassion, and warmth, allowing patients and their families to feel that caregivers sincerely aim to help them. Operational activities include providing practical services to meet patients’ basic life and comfort needs to alleviate suffering, along with proficient, gentle nursing skills, actively communicating with patients’ families, and providing patients with an understanding of their illness and problem-solving abilities. Morse perceives caring as a therapeutic behavior including listening, touching, demonstrating skilled nursing techniques, actively caring for patients, and monitoring their conditions.

Authors and Contact Email

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Purpose

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Test Year

1990

Administration Method and Scoring

The Caring Ability Inventory (CAI) was developed by nurse researcher Ngozi O. Nkongho in 1990 and published the research tool. The Chinese version, translated by Xu Juan in 2008, includes 37 items and employs a Likert 7-point scoring system, where “completely agree” equals 7 points and “completely disagree” equals 1 point, with 13 items requiring reverse scoring. The total score for CAI is 37.259 points, with a cognitive dimension of 14.98 points, courage dimension of 13.91 points, and patience dimension of 10.70 points. A higher total score indicates a stronger ability to care.

Reliability and Validity

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Factors and Subscales

– Cognitive Dimension (认知维度)
– Courage Dimension (勇气维度)
– Patience Dimension (耐心维度)

Keywords

Caring, Caring Ability Inventory, Ethical Caring, Natural Caring, 5C Theory

Items in Chinese

1. 我认为学习是需要日积月累的。
2. 当今是充满机遇的社会。
3. 我口头所说的通常正是我所想的。
4. 对于一个绝望的人，我无能为力。
5. 我认为自己还需要不断完善。
6. 即便别人不喜欢我，我还是能够去喜欢他们。
7. 我很容易理解别人。
8. 就我所需要了解的知识而言，我已经知道得够多了。
9. 我愿意花时间去了解别人。
10. 有时我想关心别人，有时又不想关心别人。
11. 我无法使生活变得更美好。
12. 当别人依赖我时，我常感到不安。
13. 我不太愿意为了帮助别人而中断自己的事。
14. 在与别人相处时，我很难表露自己的情感。
15. 我只在意把事情做对，而不管话说得好不好听。
16. 我发现如果没有与别人相似经历，我就很难理解他们的感受。
17. 我钦佩那些沉着、镇静和有耐心的人。
18. 我认为尊重和接受别人的意见和情感是很重要的。
19. 别人认为我是一个守信用的人。
20. 我认为自己还有提高的空间。
21. 好朋友之间应互相关照。
22. 我发现做每件事都有它的意义。
23. 对那些我照顾的人，我总放心不下，因为我担心会有什么意外发生在他们身上。
24. 我喜欢鼓励别人。
25. 我不愿意作出自己无法实现的承诺。
26. 我真的很喜欢自己。
27. 我能看到每个人的优点和缺点。
28. 我的经历常常让我很畏惧。
29. 我很害怕公开地让别人了解我。
30. 各种各样的人，我都能接受。
31. 当关怀照护他人时，我从不掩饰自己的情感。
32. 我不喜欢别人向我求助。
33. 我能用一种热情和关爱的方式向别人表达我的情感。
34. 我喜欢与人交谈。
35. 我认为在与别人的交往中自己是很真诚的。
36. 人是需要私人的空间去思考和感知的。
37. 任何时候，人们都容易和我相处。

Items in English

1. I believe that learning takes time.
2. Today is filled with opportunities.
3. I usually say what I mean to others.
4. There is very little I can do for a person who is helpless.
5. I can see the need for change in myself.
6. I am able to like people even if they don’t like me.
7. I understand people easily.
8. I have seen enough in this world for what I need to know.
9. I make the time to get to know other people.
10. Sometimes I like to be involved and sometimes I do not like being involved.
11. There is nothing I can do to make life better.
12. I feel uneasy knowing that another person depends on me.
13. I do not like to go out of my way to help other people.
14. In dealing with people it is difficult to let my feelings show.
15. It does not matter what I say as long as I do the correct thing.
16. I find it difficult to understand how the other person feels if I have not had similar experiences.
17. I admire people who are calm, composed and patient.
18. I believe it is important to accept and respect the attitudes and feelings of others.
19. People can count on me to do what I say I will.
20. I believe that there is room for improvement.
21. Good friends look after each other.
22. I find meaning in every situation.
23. I am afraid to let go of those I care for because I am afraid of what might happen to them.
24. I like to offer encouragement to people.
25. I do not like to make commitments beyond the present.
26. I really like myself.
27. I see strengths and weaknesses (limitations) in each individual.
28. New experiences are usually frightening to me.
29. I am afraid to be open and let others see who I am.
30. I accept people just the way they are.
31. When I care for someone else, I do not have to hide my feelings.
32. I do not like to be asked for help.
33. I can express my feelings to people in a warm and caring way.
34. I like talking with people.
35. I regard myself as sincere in my relationships with others.
36. People need space (room, privacy) to think and feel.
37. I can be approached by people at any time.

References

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