Background

This study aims to translate the Caregiver Difficulties Scale (CDS) into Turkish language and to reveal its reliability and validity in Turkish informal family caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods

This study included 130 participants (39.9 ± 7.8 years; range 24–58 years; 106 females and 24 males). Demographic properties of participants, relationship with the care recipient, income, caregiving time, CP type, and diseases of the child (e.g., epilepsy, hydrocephalus, and congenital heart disease) and the caregiver were recorded. The Caregiver Difficulties Scale (CDS), Caregiver Well-Being Scale (CWBS), World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used for data collection. The internal consistency of the CDS was assessed using the calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. A test-retest interval of 2-weeks was used to assess the reliability. The intercorrelation of variables was evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to find the predictive power of CDS scores for depression.

Results

A total of 130 family caregivers of children with CP completed the test/retest procedures. The Cronbach alpha coefficients were found as 0.878 for the test and 0.852 for the retest. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value was found between 0.83 and 0.90 for test-retest reliability of the CDS. In addition, the CDS showed a significantly strong correlation with CWBS-activities of living subscale and WHOQOL-BREF psychological, physical, and environment domains, as well as a significantly moderate correlation with CWBS basic needs subscale, BDI, and WHOQOL-BREF general health, and social domains. CDS score that are >46 resulted in a sensitivity of 81.48% and a specificity of 73.79% for moderate-severe depression.

Conclusion

The Turkish version of the CDS is a valid and reliable measure for caregiver burden of family caregivers of children with CP.