The Development and Psychometric Validation of a Comprehensive Measure Assessing Fear of Incompetence among Adults Who Have a Family Member with Dementia
Table 2
Factor loadings for the items in the FOI scale based on the final maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis with a promax rotation.
FOI scale items
Scale instructions read as follows: “Below are several concerns that people may have when interacting with their relative or family member who has been diagnosed with dementia. Using the rating scale provided, please indicate to what extent each of the following would concern you when interacting with a living family member with dementia.”
1
2
3
I will not know what to talk about when he/she does not recognize me anymore.
.93
−.13
−.07
.64
I will not know what to do when he/she does not recognize me anymore.
.91
.03
−.25
.64
I will not know how to talk with him/her when he/she does not recognize me anymore.
.91
−.01
−.16
.64
I will not know what to do to make him/her recognize me.
.88
.01
−.11
.68
I will not know how to interact with him/her if he/she does not remember me.
.87
−.01
−.13
.61
I will be unable to convince him/her that we know each other.
.82
.04
−.15
.59
I will no longer know what to say to make him/her recognize me.
.79
.03
−.09
.58
I will be unable to get him/her to remember the activities we used to do together.
.78
−.10
.05
.59
I will be unable to get him/her to remember my visits.
.72
−.12
.13
.57
I will no longer know what to say for him/her to remember events from my childhood.
.70
−.11
.11
.53
I will no longer know how to carry a conversation about familiar topics with him/her.
.67
−.00
.12
.58
I will be unable to get him/her to enjoy the activities we used to do together.
.64
.03
.06
.52
I will not know how to continue a conversation with him/her.
.63
−.08
.24
.58
I will no longer be able to make him/her happy to see me.
.63
.16
−.10
.50
I will not know what to do to make him/her remember events from my childhood.
.63
−.10
.21
.55
I will not know what to say to him/her.
.61
−.04
.24
.57
I will not know how to interact with him/her when he/she drifts in and out.
.60
.08
.14
.61
I will no longer know what topics to discuss with him/her.
.59
−.00
.18
.53
I will not how to interact with him/her anymore.
.59
.13
.10
.60
I will no longer be able to communicate with him/her verbally.
.54
.18
.01
.49
I will not be able to keep him/her in the present moment.
.52
.11
.11
.49
I will not know how to interact with him/her if he/she does not seem to be present.
.52
.18
.10
.54
I will be unable to communicate one-on-one with him/her.
.49
.28
.05
.50
I will not get him/her to understand what I am trying to communicate to him/her.
.48
.27
−.03
.48
I will no longer know what to say to make him/her comfortable.
.46
.37
−.02
.58
I will no longer be able to prevent him/her from rejecting me.
.43
−.00
.25
.42
I will not know how to detect what mindset he/she is in (e.g., recent times or memories from his/her past)
.42
.33
.05
.54
I will not be spending quality time with him/her.
.42
.09
.11
.34
I will not know how to make activities pleasant for the both of us.
.40
.25
.13
.49
I will be unable to assist when he/she is in physical pain.
−.17
.89
−.12
.57
I will not be able to detect the amount of physical pain he/she is in.
−.09
.88
−.16
.57
I will not be able to detect the amount of psychological pain he/she is in.
.02
.85
−.21
.59
I will be unable to assist when he/she is in psychological pain.
.11
.78
−.22
.57
I will not be able to guarantee his/her safety.
−.14
.77
−.03
.48
I will not know how to take care of his/her psychological needs.
.12
.77
−.17
.59
I will not know how to take care of his/her physical needs.
−.19
.76
.14
.56
I will not know what to do to make him/her feel comfortable.
.27
.66
−.14
.63
I will not know how to care for him/her.
−.01
.65
.07
.53
I will not be able to console him/her if he/she is upset.
.26
.63
−.19
.52
I will not know how to calm him/her down.
.21
.60
−.07
.53
I will not know how to respond and handle emergencies that involve him/her.
−.09
.59
.19
.46
I will say something to him/her that would make him/her angry, irritated, or upset.
.07
.53
.12
.45
I will do something that will irritate him/her.
−.03
.49
.21
.40
I will not be able to pick-up on cues regarding his/her current mental state/mood.
.12
.46
.18
.47
I will not know whether a behavior displayed by him/her is due to dementia or other causes.
.06
.45
.21
.45
I will not know how he/she feels or thinks.
.36
.44
−.05
.51
I will be unable to convince him/her that they still have a purpose in life.
.22
.42
.04
.40
I will not know how to control his/her outbursts.
.09
.41
.23
.44
I will be unable to prevent him/her from saying something that makes me feel embarrassed.
−.06
−.19
.81
.52
I will be unable to prevent him/her from doing something that will irritate me.
−.06
−.12
.79
.55
I will say something that makes me feel embarrassed.
.00
−.14
.76
.51
I will not be able to prevent him/her from saying awkward things.
.11
−.20
.73
.53
I will lose my patience if he/she asks me the same question repeatedly.
.02
−.12
.69
.48
I will not know how/where to find more information related to his/her dementia.
−.19
.17
.67
.45
I will not be able to go along with his/her stories anymore.
.23
−.17
.64
.53
I will not keep calm if he/she starts behaving aggressively.
−.09
.10
.63
.46
I will say awkward things to him/her.
.00
.06
.60
.43
I will not know how to get the help and information needed from the healthcare system.
−.27
.39
.54
.45
I will be unable to redirect the conversation if it gets off topic or repetitive.
.29
−.11
.54
.52
I will not have enough knowledge about dementia to communicate effectively.
−.09
.32
.51
.48
I will not know why he/she behaves the way he/she does.
.13
.09
.48
.45
I will not know the causes of his/her dementia in order to help him/her.
−.02
.22
.47
.41
I will not know the causes of his/her dementia in order to prevent it from happening to me.
.01
.18
.42
.35
I will not know who he/she is anymore.
.24
.00
.42
.41
I will not know how to console a third person in the interaction (e.g., sibling, parent, friend) if my relative with dementia is having a bad day.
.13
.21
.36
.40
Note. 1 = Interaction Concerns subscale, 2 = Caregiving Concerns subscale, 3 = Knowledge Concerns subscale. Participants were provided the following instructions “Below are several concerns that people may have when interacting with their relative or family member who has been diagnosed with dementia. Using the rating scale from 1 (not at all concerned) to 7 (extremely concerned), please indicate to what extent each of the following would concern you when interacting with a living family member with dementia.” = item retained at the researcher’s discretion.
