Psychometric Assessment of the Depressive Cognition Scale in Women Family Members of Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Family members of persons with serious mental illness (SMI) are vulnerable to depression, and early identification of cognitive depressive symptoms is important to prevent it. The Depressive Cognition Scale (DCS) may be beneficial for early detection, but the scale's psychometrics have not been tested in family members of persons with SMI. In this study, 60 women relatives of adults with SMI completed the eight-item DCS and measures of caregiver burden, resourcefulness, sense of coherence, and quality of life. A Cronbach's alpha of .87 indicated internal consistency. Construct validity was supported by correlations with caregiver burden (.40), resourcefulness (–.65), sense of coherence (–.77), and quality of life (–.70). Confirmatory factor analysis produced a single factor with 48% of the variance explained and factor loadings >.45 for all items. The findings suggest the DCS is useful for early detection of depression in women relatives of adults with SMI.