Development and validation of the Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Gerontology
• Health Sciences

Background:

• Dementia caregiving is linked to adverse health outcomes for relatives.
• Experiential avoidance correlates with caregiver distress, but a specific measure is lacking.
• The Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ) was developed to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ).
• To assess the psychometric properties of the EACQ in a sample of dementia family caregivers.

Main Methods:

• Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 263 dementia family caregivers.
• Participants completed the EACQ, Action and Acceptance Questionnaire (AAQ), and measures of depression, anxiety, alexithymia, cognitive fusion, dysfunctional thoughts, and mean arterial pressure.
• Principal component analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the EACQ.

Main Results:

• Principal component analysis yielded three factors explaining 44.75% of the variance: Active Avoidant Behaviors, Intolerance of Negative Thoughts/Emotions Towards Relative, and Apprehension Concerning Negative Internal Experiences.
• The EACQ demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .70 for the total scale).
• Significant positive associations were found between the EACQ and anxiety, dysfunctional thoughts, alexithymia, and the AAQ.

Conclusions:

• The EACQ is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing experiential avoidance in dementia caregivers.
• The EACQ can be a valuable tool for clinical assessment and therapeutic interventions targeting caregiver distress.