Psychometric properties of the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) among caregivers of children with autism

• Published in: Autism : the international journal of research and practice 2012-03, Vol.16 (2), p.179-199
• Main Authors: Khanna, Rahul, Madhavan, S. Suresh, Smith, Michael J., Tworek, Cindy, Patrick, Julie H., Becker-Cottrill, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Autism; Autistic children; Autistic Disorder - therapy; Behavior Disorders; Behavioural problems; Biological and medical sciences; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Carers; Caretaker syndrome; Ceiling Effects; Check Lists; Checklist; Child; Child clinical studies; Childhood Autism Rating Scale; Children; Developmental Behavior Checklist; Developmental disorders; Emotional Disturbances; Emotional-Behavioural problems; Family - psychology; Family Assessment Device; Female; Humans; Infantile autism; Internal Consistency; Male; Measures (Individuals); Medical sciences; Parents; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometric properties; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Quality of Life; Quality of Life - psychology; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Social Support; Stress Variables; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Test Reliability; Test Validity; West Virginia
• ISSN: 1362-3613; 1461-7005
• DOI: 10.1177/1362361311406143

The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) among caregivers of children with autism. The CGSQ was originally developed to assess burden experienced by parents of children and adolescents with serious emotional and behavioral disorders. Study data was collected from 304 primary caregivers ofchildren with autism using a cross-sectional survey design. We tested the one-, two-, and three-factor CGSQ model. Though the three-factor CGSQ model fit better than the one- and two-factor model, it was still short of an acceptable fit. Minor modifications were made to the three-factor model by correlating error terms. The modified three-factor CGSQ model with correlated error indicated reasonable fit with the data. The 21-item CGSQ had good convergent validity, as indicated by the correlation of its three subscales with constructs including mental health-related quality of life, maladaptive coping, social support, family functioning, and care recipient level of functional impairment and extent of behavioral problems, respectively. The internal consistency reliability of the instrument was also good, and there were no floor and ceiling effects. The CGSQ was found to be a reliable and valid instrument to assess burden among caregivers of children with autism.