Novos estudos psicométricos para o Inventário de Habilidades Sociais para Cuidadores de Idosos (IHS-CI)

Caring for a dependent elderly person is an increasingly common task. To assess social skills of elderly person caregiver´s, the Social Skills Inventory for Elderly Caregivers (SSI-EC) was developed. The aim of this study was to verify additional validity evidences related to the internal structure of the items and those based on the relationship with other variables. Participants were 252 caregivers of elderly family members, with a mean age of 50 years (SD = 14.4) and most females (86.9%), who answered the SSI-EC and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Of these, 74 also responded to the Empathy Inventory. The SSI-EC factorial structure was adequate (RMSEA = 0.07, CFI = 0.92 and x2/df = 2.35) and correlated positively with empathy scores. The SSI-EC is a relevant instrument and its interpretation can serve to evaluate caregiver interventions as well as guide which social skills classes need to be improved.