Factor Analysis of the 12-Item Zarit Burden Interview in Caregivers of Persons Diagnosed With Dementia

The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) is commonly used to measure dementia caregiver burden, but its factor structure is unclear. A two-factor structure for the 12-item ZBI, personal strain and role strain, has been shown, but recent data suggest that an additional factor of guilt is embedded in the role strain items. The 12-item ZBI administered to 194 informal rural and urban caregivers of persons diagnosed with dementia was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. A two-factor structure, with item loadings consistent with previously conceptualized constructs of personal strain and role strain, was found. Moreover, this factor structure was invariant to caregiver subgroups. When the predictive value of these factors was explored, only personal strain was important in predicting caregiver psychological distress, measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory. However, role strain, which included the hypothesized guilt items, did not appear to be an important predictor of caregiver distress.