Validating the Hebrew Version of the Modified Dementia Worry Scale (H-MDWS)

AbstractThe body of knowledge regarding dementia worry – people’s sense of threat about developing dementia – is still limited. Additional studies are essential to better understand levels of dementia worry and its correlates, especially in cross-cultural contexts. To reach this goal, it is critical to use structured and valid measures to assess d ementia worry and to verify these measures in different languages. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Hebrew version of the Modified Dementia Worry Scale (the H-MDWS). A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted with 368 Israe li laypeople who were 18 years of age or older (53% women, 76% Jewish, mean age = 40, average years of education = 14). In addition to the H-MDWS, participants were asked to report their fear of Alzheimer’s disease (using a dichotomous single item), stigma, health anxiety, and demographic characteristics. Reliability analyses showed that the Cronbach’s alpha for the H-MDWS was excellent (α = 0.95). The results of the factor analysis demonstrated that the scale has a unidimensional structure, explaining over 66% of the variance. In addition, we found significant correlations b etween fear of developing Alzheimer’s disease, stigma, and health anxiety, on the one hand, and the H-MDWS on the other. The H-MDWS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing dementia worry. The validation of the tool not only allows expan...
Source: Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research