Adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of the Fear of Alzheimer's Disease Scale.

OBJECTIVES

Despite emerging evidence suggesting the importance of alleviating dementia fear in improving psychological wellbeing and effective coping strategies, a major barrier to the evaluation and management of dementia fear is the lack of a valid tool to measure it, especially among the Chinese ethnic group. This study aims to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Fear of Alzheimer's Disease Scale (FADS).

METHOD: 196 community-dwelling older adults aged over 50 years completed the survey. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency and two-week test-retest reliability. Validity was assessed by content validity, concurrent validity, known group comparison, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

RESULTS

Reliability was supported by Cronbach's alpha of 0.912, and the intra-class correlation coefficient among 32 participants is 0.793. EFA model confirms its three-factor structure. Content validity was deemed acceptable. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between FADS scores and both perceived susceptibility and severity of dementia. Divergent validity was evident from significant score differences between participants with and without prior interaction with individuals with dementia.

CONCLUSION

This study confirms the FADS as a valid and reliable instrument to assess dementia-related fear among middle-aged and older adults in the Chinese population.