Cuidadores familiares de pessoas com demência: Tradução, adaptação e validação da Escala de Limites Ambíguos

Abstract

Background: Caring for people with dementia generates stress among family caregivers. One of these stressor events is ambiguous loss. Objectives: To translate, adapt, and validate the Boundary Ambiguity Scale (BAS) into European Portuguese and assess its psychometric properties. Methodology: Methodological study with a sample of 88 family caregivers of people with dementia. Internal consistency was assessed using McDonald’s omega coefficient (  ). Construct validity was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and criterion validity through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results: The BAS showed excellent content validity. The EFA revealed a two-factor model, explaining 44% of variance, and a  of 0.72. Family caregivers who live with people with dementia had greater ambiguous loss ( t = 2.823, p < 0.01). A statistically significant moderate positive correlation was found between the BAS and the PSS ( r s = 0.578, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The BAS has acceptable validity and internal consistency for assessing ambiguous loss.