Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ)

Abstract

The Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ), also known as “Cuestionario de asertividad en el cuidado,” was developed by Márquez-González et al. in 2023. This original inventory/questionnaire is designed to measure the assertive skills of family caregivers of individuals with dementia. It specifically focuses on their interactions with the cared-for person and other relatives within the caregiving context. The development of the CAQ was informed by existing measures such as the Assertiveness Schedule (Rathus, 1973) and the Social Skills Scale (Escala de Habilidades Sociales [Gismero, 2010]). The final 9-item CAQ underwent evaluation with a sample of family caregivers of people with dementia, recruited from various social and healthcare centers in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. This evaluation included reporting on factor analysis, reliability, and validity results. The CAQ aims to serve as a valuable assessment tool for comprehensive assessment protocols for dementia family caregivers and for designing interventions tailored to support this population.

Keywords

Assertiveness, Caregiving, Setting Limits, Facing Conflicts, Expressing Discomfort, Dementia Caregivers

Authors

• Márquez-González, María

• Jiménez-Gonzalo, Lucía

• Gallego-Alberto, Laura

• Hernández-Gómez, Alba

• Cabrera, Isabel

• García-Batalloso, Inés

• Losada-Baltar, Andrés

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ) is to provide a practical assessment tool. This tool is intended for use in designing comprehensive assessment protocols for dementia family caregivers. Furthermore, it aims to assist in the development of interventions specifically designed to help this particular population.

Validity

The construct validity of the Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ) is supported by a factorial structure consisting of three factors. These factors collectively explain a significant percentage of the variance in assertiveness, with all items demonstrating high factor loadings. Additionally, the construct validity of the CAQ is further supported by its significant relationships with psychological variables that are relevant to the processes of caregiving stress and coping (Knight & Sayegh, 2010).

Reliability

The internal consistency of the Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ) was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The Cronbach’s alpha for the total CAQ score was found to be .74. For the individual factors, Cronbach’s alpha was .79 for the first factor, .68 for the second factor, and .59 for the third factor.

Factor Analysis

An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted. Following the deletion of certain items, a three-factor structure was identified. This three-factor structure accounted for 69.63% of the variance in assertiveness. The eigenvalues for these factors were 3.21, 1.70, and 1.36, respectively. All items included in the final structure demonstrated factor loadings equal to or higher than .40. The three-factor structure exhibited an excellent fit of the model to the data, as indicated by the following fit indices: χ2(36)= 783.769, p< .001, RMSEA= .033, 90% CI (.000, .094), CFI= 1.00; TLI= .992, and SRMR= .028.

Instrument: Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ)

Test Type: Original
Format: Items are rated on a 4-point scale: 0=Never, 1=Sometimes, 2=Often, and 3=Always.
Language Available: Spanish, English
Population Group: Human; Male; Female
Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Population Details: Respondents are Dementia Family Caregivers located in Spain.
Test Methodology: Test Validity, Construct Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis.
Number of Items: This is a 9-item scale.
Factors and Subscales: The CAQ includes the following subscales: Expressing discomfort, Facing conflicts, and Setting limits.
Test Items Available: No data is Available

Keywords

Assertiveness, Caregiving, Setting Limits, Facing Conflicts, Expressing Discomfort, Dementia Caregivers

Authors

• Márquez-González, María

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Autonomous University of Madrid

  • Email Address: [email protected]

• Jiménez-Gonzalo, Lucía

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: King Juan Carlos University

  • Email Address: No data is Available

• Gallego-Alberto, Laura

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Autonomous University of Madrid

  • Email Address: No data is Available

• Hernández-Gómez, Alba

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Complutense University de Madrid

  • Email Address: No data is Available

• Cabrera, Isabel

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Autonomous University of Madrid

  • Email Address: No data is Available

• García-Batalloso, Inés

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Autonomous University of Madrid

  • Email Address: No data is Available

• Losada-Baltar, Andrés

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: King Juan Carlos University

  • Email Address: No data is Available

Correspondence Address: Márquez-González, María: Autonomous University of Madrid, School of Psychology, c/ Ivan Pavlov, 6, Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain, 28049, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author
Fee: No
Test Year: 2023
Commercial: No

References

Márquez-González, M., Jiménez-Gonzalo, L., Gallego-Alberto, L., Hernández-Gómez, A., Cabrera, I., García-Batalloso, I., & Losada-Baltar, A. (2023). Assertive behavior in dementia family caregivers: Development and validation of the Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ). Behavioral Psychology, 31(2), 393–412. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541231188192

Items of the Caregiving Assertiveness Questionnaire (CAQ)

No data is Available