Psychometric properties of APGAR-family scale in a multiethnic sample of Chilean older people

• Published in: Revista medíca de Chile 2019-10, Vol.147 (10), p.1283-1290
• Main Authors: Mayorga-Muñoz, Cecilia, Gallardo-Peralta, Lorena, Galvez-Nieto, José Luis
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Chile; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Family Relations - ethnology; Family Relations - psychology; Female; Humans; Loneliness - psychology; Male; Middle Aged; Psychometrics; Quality of Life - psychology; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards
• ISSN: 0717-6163
• DOI: 10.4067/s0034-98872019001001283

The APGAR-family scale is used for the assessment of family functioning in primary health care. To examine the psychometric properties of the family functioning scale APGAR-family, in a multi-ethnic sample of older Chilean adults. The scale was applied to 800 participants aged more than 60 years, residing in rural areas of the regions of Arica and Parinacota and La Araucanía. The Cronbach's alpha obtained was 0,992 for the scale composed of five items. The confirmatory factor analysis determined a unifactorial model, whose goodness of fit indices were satisfactory. Namely, weighted least square mean and variance adjusted-χ2 was 20.097 (p < 0.01), comparative fit index was 0.997, Tucker-Lewis index was 0.995 and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation was 0.079 (90% confidence intervals 0.049-0.091). The APGAR-family is a reliable and appropriate instrument to be applied in older people in Chile, specifically in elderly people residing in rural areas who belong to the Aymara and Mapuche indigenous communities.