Psychometric Analysis of the Emotional Tone Rating Scale: A Measure of Person-Centered Communication

Abstract

Psychometric analysis of the Emotional Tone Rating Scale (ETRS) was completed using ratings of naïve listeners who evaluated staff-resident communication in three nursing homes. Interrater consistency was high with ICC (2, 1) for agreement = .95 and consistency = .95. Factor analysis revealed two factors—person-centered communication and controlling communication—that explained 84.8% of the variance. Person-centered communication included seven descriptors (items) with loadings ranging from .84 to .98 and a coefficient alpha of .98. Controlling communication included five items that loaded from –.63 to .99 with a coefficient alpha of .94. These factors were negatively correlated (p = –.64) and demonstrated good ranges, standard deviations, and high item-total correlations. Person-centered communication correlated with higher resident engagement in conversation in contrast to controlling communication. The ETRS provides a measure of person-centered communication that can be used to evaluate interactions between nursing staff and older adults who reside in long term care settings.

Keywords:

• communication
• measurement
• nursing home
• person-centered care

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIH Small Grant: NR009231–02, Elderspeak: Impact on Dementia Care, K. Williams, PI.

We gratefully acknowledge doctoral nursing students Jamie Meyers, Shay Schroetter, Cheryl Spittler, Diane Thompson, and Chelle Yin who completed the statistical analyses for a class project.