The development of the PPOM-C for family carers of people with dementia: Psychometric properties and factor structure

Background: Positive psychology is an area of interest when considering the experiences of family carers of people living with dementia. The research is replete with studies measuring burden, stress or depression; with comparatively fewer quantifying positive emotions. Robust instruments that can measure positive states in family carers are important for reliability, validity and for comparisons amongst studies. Methods: This study utilised online methods to administer the Positive Psychology Outcome Measure (PPOM), a measure of hope and resilience (originally developed for people with dementia), to 267 family carers of people living with dementia. In addition, respondents completed the HADS-Depression subscale, the MSPSS and the SF-12 quality of life measure to establish the PPOM’s convergent validity. Results: Two items were deleted on the PPOM to improve its internal consistency and factor structure. The newly formed PPOM-C is a 14-item measure validated for carers of people with dementia. It possesses excellent internal consistency, good convergent validity, adequate factor structure and excellent test-retest reliability. Conclusions: These robust psychometric properties suggest that it is ready for further use in research and practice. Future research could evaluate its responsiveness to change following intervention