Colombian validation of the short-form coping and adaptation processing scale in caregivers

Background: Illness induces stress in both patients and their families, prompting cognitive and behavioural responses that shape family coping mechanisms. The Coping and Adaptation Processing Scale-Short Form is an instrument used to assess such coping strategies, with validated versions in English, Korean, and Chinese, all demonstrating robust psychometric properties. Objective: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the Coping and Adaptation Processing Scale-Short Form in caregivers of post-COVID-19 patients. Design: A psychometric, descriptive, and analytical cross-sectional study conducted in three phases. Setting: A tertiary and quaternary care hospital. Participants: Phase I involved 18 expert judges. Phase II included 100 caregivers of patients with COVID-19. Phase III comprised nine expert judges and 182 caregivers of post-COVID-19 patients. Methods: Face and content validity were assessed by experts in middle-range theory and clinical care. A pilot application was subsequently conducted among caregivers. Initial confirmatory factor analysis revealed weak item clustering and resulted in the exclusion of five items. This prompted Phase III, which included a cognitive validity assessment through expert and caregiver input. Based on these findings, a second round of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses was conducted, followed by internal consistency testing using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients. Results: Face and content validity were confirmed by expert consensus, with minor semantic adjustments to some items. The adjusted version was applied to 100 caregivers; the initial confirmatory factor analysis supported the removal of five items. In Phase III, the revised scale was re-evaluated by experts and applied to a new caregiver sample. The subsequent factor analysis demonstrated acceptable model fit indices, and all items were retained. Internal consistency was satisfactory, with an ordinal Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 and McDonald's omega of 0.89. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the Coping and Adaptation Processing Scale-Short Form maintained its theoretical integrity, demonstrated cultural relevance, and exhibited acceptable psychometric properties, confirming its validity and reliability in hospital-based caregiver populations.