Positive aspects of caregiving in Spanish caregivers of individuals with acquired brain injury.

OBJECTIVE

Taking care of a person with acquired brain injury (ABI) is often associated with symptoms of stress and psychological distress. However, caregiving can also be a source of satisfaction and can contribute toward an improvement in the quality of life both of the caregiver and the person with ABI. The aim of this study is to assess and adapt the Positive Aspects of Caregiving Scale (PACS) to Spanish.

METHOD

The PACS was completed by a sample of 141 family members who are the primary caregivers of relatives with ABI (mean age = 58.3 years, SD = 12.2; 78% women). The caregivers also responded to questions evaluating quality of life, burden, and posttraumatic growth.

RESULTS

The results confirm the original structure of the PACS, which consists of 2 correlated factors: Self-Affirmation and Outlook on Life. Furthermore, these factors demonstrated adequate indices for internal consistency. The scores obtained from the PACS are positively associated with quality of psychological life, quality of social life, and posttraumatic growth and negatively associated with the perception of burden.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight how important it is for interventions to emphasize the positive aspects of caregiving in caregivers of people affected by ABI.