Improving Self-Care of Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia Caregivers

30 items scored 0-100. A higher score indicates better self-care. This theoretically-derived instrument has construct validity. The self-care confidence scale is embedded within this instrument.

The FTDRS includes 30 questions covering 7 categories: behavior, outing and shopping, household chores and telephone, finances, medications, meal preparation and eating, and self care and mobility. Each question is scored on a likert scale of "never" (0) to "all the time (2). Higher scores represents more frequent symptoms. The reported scores are the mean/standard deviation for the first 7 questions (Category: Behavior).

The Perceived Stress Scale is a 14-item instrument that provides a global rating of an individual's belief in the severity and frequency of stressful experiences during the last month. The Perceived Stress Scale includes 14 items designed to assess symptoms of stress and global measures of the degree of stress experienced in the past month. Each item is scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often), with total sum scores ranging from 0 to 56; higher scores indicate higher perceived stress.

CES-D is a valid and reliable scale for detecting caregiver depression in dementia. The scoring is on a likert scale 0: Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day), 1: Some or a little of the time (1-2 days), 2: Occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days), and 3: Most or all of the time (5-7 days). Higher scores represent greater depressive symptoms. Total scores can range 0 to 60. A score equal or above a 16 means a person is at risk for clinical depression.

This 42-item questionnaire measures the use of five different coping styles: avoidance, problem-focused, seeking social support, self-blame, and wishful thinking. The original scale has been used widely since developed by Lazarus in 1985. The short version (30 items) uses a 4-point Likert-scale response format (0 = not used to 3 = used a great deal). Scores range from 0-90 with higher scores indicating greater coping. It is reliable (alpha 0.95) and has construct validity. This instrument has been used numerous times in studies with older adult caregivers.

The ZBI has been used in numerous informal dementia caregiver studies to capture burden associated with providing care to a loved one. Total scores are summed and a range is provided for little to no burden (0-21) to severe burden (61-88).

Commonly used scale to evaluate 12 common behaviors in dementia including Delusions, Hallucinations, Agitation/Aggression, Depression, Anxiety, Elation/Euphoria, Apathy/Indifference, Disinhibition, Irritability, Aberrant motor behavior, Sleep and Nighttime Behavior Disorders, Appetite and Eating Disorders. Ratings include the frequency of the occurrence of behaviors (1 = occasionally, 2 = often, 3 = frequently, 4 = very frequently), and the level of severity of behaviors (1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe). The behavioral domain total score is the product of the frequency score multiplied by the severity score for that behavior. The NPI total score is the sum of all the individual behavioral domains. Scores range from 0-144. Higher scores demonstrate greater symptoms frequency and severity.