Assessment of Self Perceived Social Competencies of Caregivers in Dementia Care

We report on the development and psychometric testing of the Self-Perceived Social Competence in Dementia Care (SOKO dementia) questionnaire, a self-report instrument to assess geriatric caregivers’ perceptions of their specific social competencies in dementia care. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify that three factors were captured. Convergent and discriminatory validity of the instrument was demonstrated using measures of self-reported occupational mental stress, conscientiousness, and sensitivity. The measure captured specific self-perceived social competencies in professional interactions with dementia patients, colleagues, and patients’ relatives, and showed appropriate psychometric properties. The SOKO dementia is useful for estimating caregivers’ self-perceptions prior to continuous education. It may also help to measure the specific effects of training programs that focus on social-communicative skills in dementia care.