Eldercaring Conflict Checklist (ECC): Development, Pilot, and Initial Validation of Scale

Abstract

Unresolved family conflicts regarding caring for older adults can devastate their overall health, well-being, and the quality of care from their support networks. To better understand conflict in the context of caring for older populations, this study developed and piloted a new screening tool, the Eldercaring Conflict Checklist (ECC). The ECC was developed to help professionals provide targeted responses and interventions. The ECC is based on a literature review focusing on the factors associated with the typologies of family conflict in caring for older populations. A diverse sample of 157 professionals serving older populations in conflict answered an online survey using a case study vignette and the ECC. The ECC's validity, reliability, and factor structure were analyzed and explored quantitatively and by coding emerging themes in open-ended qualitative questions in the survey. The respondents reported that the ECC is comprehensive and useful, indicating its value as an intake screening tool and helpful for reliably and thoroughly assessing and measuring conflict within older adult family relations. Results show that the ECC demonstrates very high internal validity and model fit indices for the entire ECC, and each of the eight factors showed promising results. Implications are discussed regarding working with families within eldercaring coordination and elder mediation.