{
  "abstract": "Objectives Multiple sclerosis (MS) competence is crucial for caregivers of people with MS (PwMS). Having validated MS-specific tools to measure caregivers’ Sense of Competence (SoC) is fundamental to understand if they are coping with their role and/or need support and training. The aim of the study was to develop and validate the Caregiver SoC questionnaire for caregivers of PwMS (CareSoC-MS), a self-report questionnaire, to assess SoC in MS caregivers.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting Italy.Participants 191 MS caregivers (sex: 48.7% females; age: 58.6±12.6 years; education: 62.8% high-school/university) self-administered the 27-item CareSoC-MS questionnaire. Psychometric evaluation consisted of analyses of structural validity and reliability, construct validity and discriminant validity. The final version of the CareSoC-MS includes 14 items covering 4 relevant SoC domains: L1-Psychological well-being, L2-Impact on personal social life, L3-Efficacy of the provided care and L4-Satisfaction with one’s own performance as a caregiver.Results The 14-item CareSoC-MS is a psychometrically valid questionnaire with no ceiling or floor effects. Test–retest reliability analysis showed significant intraclass correlation coefficients for L1 (0.80), L2 (0.96), L3 (0.88) and L4 (0.61). L1 and L2 were correlated with self-reported measures of burden, anxiety and depression. Care recipient disability was correlated with L1 and L2, caregiver sex with L1, and caregiver age with L3.Conclusions The CareSoC-MS is a valid self-report questionnaire that can be used in clinical practice and research. CareSoC-MS could inform healthcare professionals about how informal caregivers feel capable to face the caregiving requests and, in turn, could help prevent or postpone caregiver burden.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "NeuroBRITE Research Center, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Genoa, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Andrea Tacchino"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "NeuroBRITE Research Center, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Genoa, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Jessica Podda"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Research, Italian Foundation of Multiple Sclerosis, Genoa, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Anna Verri"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Genoa, Italy",
        "Department of Life Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Mario Alberto Battaglia"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "NeuroBRITE Research Center, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Genoa, Italy",
        "AISM Rehabilitation Service of Liguria, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society (AISM), Genoa, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Giampaolo Brichetto"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Research, Italian Foundation of Multiple Sclerosis, Genoa, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Michela Ponzio"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Development and psychometric properties of the caregiver sense of competence questionnaire for caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis (CareSoC-MS): a cross-sectional study",
  "uid": "90ef6d56-a52c-5502-a909-078d6536c2d2"
}